Digital Divide in Online Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cosmetic Course From the View of the Regional Socioeconomic Distribution

Objectives: During the pandemic, quarantine has led to the lockdown of many physical educational institutions. Thus, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have become a more common choice for participants. MOOCs are often flagged as supplemental methods to educational disparities caused by regional socioeconomic distribution. However, dissenters argue that MOOCs can exacerbate the digital divide. This study aimed to compare the participants' performance before and after the outbreak of COVID-19, analyze the impact of the epidemic on online education of cosmetic dermatology from the view of the regional socioeconomic distribution, and investigate whether MOOCs exacerbate the digital divide in the COVID-19 epidemic.Methods: The study was conducted in participants of the MOOC course Appreciation and Analysis of Cosmetics from January 2018 to December 2020. Based on the platform data and official socioeconomic statistics, correlation of multivariate analysis was used to determine the factors related to the number of total participants. A panel regression model and stepwise least squares regression analysis (STEPLS) were employed to further analyze the relationship between GDP, population, number of college students and number of total participants in different years in the eastern, central and western regions of China.Results: The number of total participants in 2020 surged 82.02% compared with that in 2019. Completion rates were generally stable in 2018 and 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic and significantly decreased in 2020 after the outbreak of the pandemic. GDP was the most important socioeconomic factor that determined the total number of participants and it was positively related to the total number of participants before and after the outbreak of the pandemic. The number of college students was unrelated to the total number of participants before the epidemic, and after the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, the number became positively related in all regions of China.Conclusions: This study shows that the epidemic pushes more people to choose MOOCs to study cosmetic dermatology, and online education could exacerbate rather than reduce disparities that are related to regional and socioeconomic status in the cosmetic field in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of alopecia

<p>Platelet rich plasma (PRP) is a promising treatment choice for patients with thinning hair. Despite excellent clinical safety and low cost, its clinical standing is still weak. The effectiveness of this method depends on its dosage, number of sessions, their intervals and technique of injection incorporated. PRP can produce particularly some phenomenal effects when applied in cosmetic dermatology. The therapeutic value of PRP is equivalent to stem cells and considered as one of the promising therapeutic agents in regenerative medicine. Harvesting of PRP plays a significant role, which is obtained from the patient's blood after centrifugation of the sample i.e., the platelet concentrates above the baseline which is the plasma fraction of the autologous blood. There are many applications of PRP in the medical field and has an incredibly significant role in dermatologic conditions e.g., tissue regeneration, wound healing, scar revision, skin rejuvenation and alopecia. In this review, we will be analyzing the authenticity of the use of PRP in the treatment of alopecia. PRP, in current scenario, is considered as a novel treatment modality. The efficacy of PRP therapy carries some deficiencies, which include lacking standard in preparation and concentration of platelets in PRP.</p><p><strong> </strong></p>

Cosmetology versus cosmetic dermatology – A personal view

The dispute on cosmetology or cosmetic dermatology as the right technical term to describe the dermatological subspeciality is not only about words but contents and perspectives. Cosmetic/ esthetic dermatology seems a better choice as outlined in this “Perspective” article. Independent from that, has the term cosmetology been used for non-medical study in natural sciences and business economics with a focus on later employment in the cosmetic industry.