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This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the prevalence of violence against pregnant women during COVID-19 pandemic based on the available evidence. Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched. All published observational articles from December 2019 to December 2022 were assessed by two independent authors using the "violence, pregnancy, COVID-19" keywords. The quality appraisal of primary studies conducted using the Newcastle - Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale checklist and 10 eligible articles were included in this review. After reviewing the articles, the prevalence of violence among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic was estimated to be 23% [95% confidence interval (CI) =18 to 29%] using the random effect model. Of them, 59% (95% CI = 13 to 105%) was attributed to verbal-behavioral violence, 30% (95% CI = 17 to 42%) emotional violence, 14% (95% CI = 8 to 20%) sexual violence, and 11% physical violence (95% CI = 6 to 17%). The results indicated that the violence prevalence among pregnant women was not different during and before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the behavioral-verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual violence were the most common forms of violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activation of Hageman factor (HF) constitutes the first step in the initiation of clotting, fibrinolysis, generation of kinins and activation of the classical component pathway. To elucidate the role of HF in inflammation, an investigation was conducted to determine if the activation of HF is associated with interleukin (IL)-1 induction. Cytokine assays and Northern blot analysis showed that activation of HF could induce moncyte expression of IL-1 protein and mRNA.

Tacrolimus, a cornerstone of immunosuppressive therapy in solid organ transplantation, has a narrow therapeutic range with considerable inter-individual and intra-individual pharmacokinetic variability. To date, there is no information on the pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus in Iranian liver transplant recipients. This study was designed to determine pharmacokinetic properties of orally administered tacrolimus in Iranian adult liver transplant recipients. Tacrolimus doses and steady state whole blood trough concentrations as well as patient demographic and clinical data were obtained retrospectively using the 30 included patients' medical records. Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by using a nonlinear mixed effect model program (Monolix version 3.1). Absorption rate constant was fixed at two hours-1. Drug apparent clearance (CL/F), apparent volume of distribution (Vd/F), and elimination half life (t1/2β) were calculated. The administered dose of tacrolimus to the patients ranged from 0.02 to 0.14 mg/Kg/day. Tacrolimus blood trough concentrations varied widely within the range of 1.8 to 30 ng/mL. The mean values of CL/F, Vd/F, and t1/2β were found to be 9.3 ± 0.96 L/h, 101 ± 29 L, and 7.5 hours, respectively. The pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus was highly variable among our patients. CL/F, Vd/F, and t1/2β of tacrolimus in this study were comparable to reported values from Italian heart transplant patients but somewhat different from reported ones from other solid organ transplant populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]