In light of recent questions and comments from the physics community, a review is made of the AAPM protocol for high-energy x-ray and electron beam dosimetry.

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Horses can return successfully to a variety of disciplines following enucleation. Owners are satisfied with the outcome and pleased that enucleation was performed.

Objective To develop a clinical informatics pipeline designed to capture large-scale structured Electronic Health Record (EHR) data for a national patient registry. Materials and Methods The EHR-R-REDCap pipeline is implemented using R statistical software to remap and import structured EHR data into the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap)-based multi-institutional Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) Patient Registry using an adaptable data dictionary. Results Clinical laboratory data were extracted from EPIC Clarity across several participating institutions. Laboratory values (Labs) were transformed, remapped, and imported into the MCC registry using the EHR labs abstraction (eLAB) pipeline. Forty-nine clinical tests encompassing 482 450 results were imported into the registry for 1109 enrolled MCC patients. Data-quality assessment revealed highly accurate, valid labs. Univariate modeling was performed for labs at baseline on overall survival (N = 176) using this clinical informatics pipeline. Conclusion We demonstrate feasibility of the facile eLAB workflow. EHR data are successfully transformed and bulk-loaded/imported into a REDCap-based national registry to execute real-world data analysis and interoperability.

Background and aims Mutations in IL10 or the IL10-receptor lead to very early onset (VEO) inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a life-threatening disease which is often unresponsive to conventional medication. Recent studies have demonstrated that defective IL-10 receptor signaling in innate immune cells is a key driver of severe intestinal inflammation in VEO-IBD. Specifically, IL10 unresponsiveness of macrophages, which govern the tight balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory responses in the intestinal system, plays a central role in the events leading to excessive inflammatory responses and the development of IBD. Methods and Results We here evaluated hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy in a VEO-IBD mouse model and demonstrate that the therapeutic response closely correlates with gene correction of the IL-10 signaling pathway in intestinal macrophages. This finding prompted us to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of macrophage transplantation in the Il10rb -/- VEO-IBD mouse model. A 6-week regimen employing a combination of depletion of endogenous hyperinflammatory macrophages followed by intraperitoneal administration of wild-type macrophages significantly reduced colitis symptoms. Conclusion In summary, we show that the correction of the IL10 receptor-defect in macrophages either by genetic therapy or transfer of WT macrophages to the peritoneum can ameliorate disease-related symptoms and potentially represent novel treatment approaches for VEO-IBD patients.