Gene Signatures Detect Damaged Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cells in Chronic Liver Diseases.

Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells have a gatekeeper function in liver homeostasis by permitting substrates from the bloodstream into the space of Disse and regulating hepatic stellate cell activation status. Maintenance of LSEC's highly specialized phenotype is crucial for liver homeostasis. During liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, LSEC phenotype and functions are lost by processes known as capillarization and LSEC dysfunction.

PU.1 drives specification of pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cells to LSEC-like cells.

To date, there is no representative in vitro model for liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), as primary LSECs dedifferentiate very fast in culture and no combination of cytokines or growth factors can induce an LSEC fate in (pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-derived) endothelial cells (ECs). Furthermore, the transcriptional programmes driving an LSEC fate have not yet been described. Here, we first present a computational workflow (CenTFinder) that can identify transcription factors (TFs) that are crucial for modulating pathways involved in cell lineage specification.

They ask for protection: An exploratory study into experiences with violence among unaccompanied refugee children in Dutch reception facilities.

Background: Children placed under governmental supervision and staying in residential or foster care are more vulnerable to violence than children who live with their own families. One specific group of children staying in reception facilities under governmental supervision comprises unaccompanied refugee children who have fled to a host country without their parents.

Objective: This qualitative study explores the experiences of unaccompanied children with regard to violence in reception facilities in the Netherlands from the perspective of the children.

Recently arrived refugee children: The quality and outcomes of Best Interests of the Child assessments.

Best Interests of the Child (BIC) assessments provide migration authorities with behavioral information about which interests of the child could be taken into account before a decision is made on the request for a residence permit. This study provides insight into the quality and outcomes of BIC assessments with 16 unaccompanied children (15-18 years) and 11 accompanied children (4-16 years) who have recently arrived in the Netherlands and requested asylum (N = 27). The results suggest that BIC assessments provide relevant information that enables assessors to determine the best interests of recently arrived refugee children.

Finding Keys: A Systematic Review of Barriers and Facilitators for Refugee Children's Disclosure of Their Life Stories.

The systematic review presented in this article aims to reveal what supports and hampers refugee children in telling their, often traumatic, life stories. This is important to ensure that migration decisions are based on reliable information about the children's needs for protection. A systematic review was conducted in academic journals, collecting all available scientific knowledge about the disclosure of life stories by refugee minors in the context of social work, guardianship, foster care, asylum procedures, mental health assessment, and therapeutic settings.

[A toddler with a mandibular fracture].

Background: Mandibular fractures are rare in children. Symptoms of these fractures include preauricular pain and swelling, trismus and pain when opening the mouth, and they are often preceded by a fall on the chin. If the diagnosis is missed they may have serious consequences for the growth and development of the jaw.

Knowledge of the Unknown Child: A Systematic Review of the Elements of the Best Interests of the Child Assessment for Recently Arrived Refugee Children.

Decision-making regarding an asylum request of a minor requires decision-makers to determine the best interests of the child when the minor is relatively unknown. This article presents a systematic review of the existing knowledge of the situation of recently arrived refugee children in the host country. This research is based on the General Comment No.

[An infant with a swelling on the head].

A 1-month-old infant presented with a swelling on the head present from birth. Physical examination showed a healthy infant with a solid swelling on the back of the head with a diameter of approximately 6 cm. Radiography showed a calcified cephalohaematoma.

[Clinical reasoning and decision making in clinical practice: a boy with fatigue and abdominal pain].

A 14-year-old boy presented with fatigue and abdominal pain. Laboratory tests revealed a primary hypothyroidism with circulating auto-antibodies against thyroid peroxidase (TPO), anaemia and an elevated level of creatine kinase (CK). A diagnosis of auto-immune hypothyroidism with associated anaemia and myopathy was made.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease in children: how reliable is the gold standard?

Objective: To investigate the causes and degree of interobserver variability in esophageal pH monitoring for the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux.

Methods: This retrospective study included all children (n = 72) who underwent pH monitoring during 1 year at Maxima Medical Centre in Veldhoven, the Netherlands.

Results: An interobserver variability of 18% was found.

Efficacy of venlafaxine compared with tricyclic antidepressants in depressive disorder: a meta-analysis.

With respect to the pharmacological characteristic, venlafaxine is comparable with tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), and venlafaxine might be comparable in efficacy. We performed a systematic review investigating the relative efficacy and tolerability of venlafaxine compared with TCAs (imipramine, clomipramine, amitriptyline, nortriptyline and desipramine). Relevant double-blind randomised trials were identified from systematic searches of electronic databases.

[Two neonates with congenital aniridia: the necessity of genetic investigation].

Two female neonates were diagnosed post partum with bilateral aniridia. The first patient had the familial form, caused by a point mutation in the paired box 6 (PAX6) gene. The second patient had a sporadic aniridia caused by a de novo microdeletion involving both the PAX6 gene as well as the Wilms tumour suppressor-I (WT1) gene.

Depression in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Background/aims: Former studies reported a high prevalence of depression in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). These studies hypothesized that the presence of depression could explain the fatigue experienced by these patients.

Methods: Our aim was to study the prevalence of depression in a Dutch population with PBC and PSC.

Fluvoxamine for fatigue in primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis: a randomised controlled trial [ISRCTN88246634].

Background: Fatigue is a major clinical problem in many patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). An effective treatment has not been defined. Recently, a large proportion of patients with these diseases was found to have symptoms of depression.

Thrombopoietin increases platelet adhesion under flow and decreases rolling.

Thrombopoietin (TPO) is known to sensitize platelets to other agonists at 20 ng/ml, and above 100 ng/ml it is an independent activator of aggregation and secretion. In studies with a perfusion chamber, TPO, between 0.01 ng/ml and 1 ng/ml, increased platelet adhesion to surface-coated fibrinogen, fibronectin and von Willebrand Factor (VWF) but not to a collagen-coated surface.

Population dynamics of Pythium aphanidermatum in cucumber grown in closed systems.

Foot and root rot in cucumber, caused by Pythium aphanidermatum (Edson) Fitzp., is an economically important disease in soilless culture systems. Nevertheless, very few data are available on the populations of this pathogen.

Spiral nitinol biliary stents in a porcine model: evaluation of the potential for use in benign strictures.

Background And Study Aims: Self-expanding spiral nitinol stents are potentially removable and may be useful in the treatment of benign strictures. We evaluated the histologic response to stent placement and technical aspects of their placement and removal in a porcine model.

Methods: Nine animals were studied.

Clinical application of a new disposable lithotripter: a prospective multicenter study.

Background: Mechanical lithotripsy has become a well-accepted method of bile duct stone fragmentation and removal. The Olympus lithotripter (Olympus American, Melville, NY) is the standard reusable lithotripter at the institutions that participated in this study. A disposable device with a preassembled pistol grip may perform equally well and facilitate operation.