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Comprehensive biodiversity data is crucial for ecosystem protection. The Biome mobile app, launched in Japan, efficiently gathers species observations from the public using species identification algorithms and gamification elements. The app has amassed >6 million observations since 2019. Nonetheless, community-sourced data may exhibit spatial and taxonomic biases. Species distribution models (SDMs) estimate species distribution while accommodating such bias. Here, we investigated the quality of Biome data and its impact on SDM performance. Species identification accuracy exceeds 95% for birds, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians, but seed plants, molluscs, and fishes scored below 90%. Our SDMs for 132 terrestrial plants and animals across Japan revealed that incorporating Biome data into traditional survey data improved accuracy. For endangered species, traditional survey data required >2000 records for accurate models (Boyce index ≥ 0.9), while blending the two data sources reduced this to around 300. The uniform coverage of urban-natural gradients by Biome data, compared to traditional data biased towards natural areas, may explain this improvement. Combining multiple data sources better estimates species distributions, aiding in protected area designation and ecosystem service assessment. Establishing a platform for accumulating community-sourced distribution data will contribute to conserving and monitoring natural ecosystems., Competing Interests: KA, YN Employed by Biome Inc, but not financially benefit directly from the publication of this paper, MU, HN No competing interests declared, TG CTO of Biome Inc, and an inventor of the species-identification-AI-algorithm JPN patents 6590417 and US patents 11048969, but not financially benefit directly from the publication of this paper, SF CEO of Biome Inc, and an inventor of the species-identification-AI-algorithm JPN patents 6590417 and US patents 11048969, but not financially benefit directly from the publication of this paper, (© 2024, Atsumi et al.)

Background: Idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) are associated with increased risk of lung cancer. In Japan, acute exaberation of IIPs induced by anticancer treatment is a critical issue. For this reason, there is limited available evidence regarding the optimal treatment approach for lung cancer patients complicated with IIPs. Our previous prospective pilot study demonstrated the safety and efficacy of weekly paclitaxel in combination with carboplatin for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with IIPs. The current study was conducted to confirm the results of the same combination therapy used in a larger patient population., Methods: Chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced stage or post-operative recurrent NSCLC patients complicated by IIPs were enrolled. Patients received paclitaxel (100 mg/m 2 ) on days 1, 8, and 15, and carboplatin (AUC 5.0) once every 4 weeks., Results: Thirty-three of 35 enrolled patients were evaluable for analysis and received a median of four treatment cycles (range 1-6). Four patients (12.1%; 95% confidence interval 3.4-28.2%) had acute exacerbation (AEx)-related IIPs to the study treatment. However, no fatalities due to AEx were observed. The overall response was 69.7%. The median progression-free survival, median survival time, and 1-year survival were 6.3 months, 19.8 months, and 55.4%, respectively., Conclusions: The efficacy of carboplatin plus weekly paclitaxel treatment for advanced NSCLC patients with IIPs was comparable to that of conventional chemotherapy in advanced NSCLC patients without IIPs. Moreover, the primary endpoint was set to the frequency of treatment-related acute exacerbation, and the primary endpoint was met. These results suggest that patients with advanced NSCLC complicated by IIPs may benefit from this combination chemotherapy.

We constructed a remote radiation planning support system between Kyushu University Hospital (KUH) in Fukuoka and Kyushu University Beppu Hospital (KBH) in Oita. Between two institutions, radiology information system for radiotherapy division (RT-RIS) and radiation planning system (RTPS) were connected by virtual private network (VPN). This system enables the radiation oncologists at KUH to perform radiotherapy planning for the patients at KBH. The detail of the remote radiation planning support system in our institutions is as follows: The radiation oncologist at KBH performs radiotherapy planning and the data of the patients are sent anonymously to the radiation oncologists at KUH. The radiation oncologists at KUH receive the patient's data, access to RTPS at KBH, verify or change the radiation planning at KBH: Radiation therapy is performed at KBH according to the confirmed plan by the radiation oncologists at KUH. Our remote radiation planning system is useful for providing radiation therapy with safety and accuracy.

Purpose: To determine clinical factors for predicting the frequency and severity of esophageal stenosis associated with tumor regression in radiotherapy for esophageal cancer., Methods and Materials: The study group consisted of 109 patients with esophageal cancer of T1-4 and Stage I-III who were treated with definitive radiotherapy and achieved a complete response of their primary lesion at Kyushu University Hospital between January 1998 and December 2007. Esophageal stenosis was evaluated using esophagographic images within 3 months after completion of radiotherapy. We investigated the correlation between esophageal stenosis after radiotherapy and each of the clinical factors with regard to tumors and therapy. For validation of the correlative factors for esophageal stenosis, an artificial neural network was used to predict the esophageal stenotic ratio., Results: Esophageal stenosis tended to be more severe and more frequent in T3-4 cases than in T1-2 cases. Esophageal stenosis in cases with full circumference involvement tended to be more severe and more frequent than that in cases without full circumference involvement. Increases in wall thickness tended to be associated with increases in esophageal stenosis severity and frequency. In the multivariate analysis, T stage, extent of involved circumference, and wall thickness of the tumor region were significantly correlated to esophageal stenosis (p = 0.031, p < 0.0001, and p = 0.0011, respectively). The esophageal stenotic ratio predicted by the artificial neural network, which learned these three factors, was significantly correlated to the actual observed stenotic ratio, with a correlation coefficient of 0.864 (p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Our study suggested that T stage, extent of involved circumference, and esophageal wall thickness of the tumor region were useful to predict the frequency and severity of esophageal stenosis associated with tumor regression in radiotherapy for esophageal cancer., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Small cell esophageal carcinoma(SCEC) is a rare disease with aggressive behavior and poor prognosis. Because of the rarity of this disease, standard therapy has not yet been established. The objective of this retrospective study was to report the outcomes of SCEC treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy from a retrospective study of 11 patients. We enrolled 11 SCEC patients who were treated with radiation therapy (more than 50 Gy) and chemotherapy between May 1996 and October 2007. Patients' age ranged from 44 to 77 years (mean: 69 years). In all patients, pathological examination of the specimen obtained by biopsy revealed small cell carcinoma. All patients were treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The mean follow-up time was 14.7 months, and the median overall survival time of all patients was 13.2 months (range: 4.2-43.6 months). The 1-year and 3-year overall survival rates were 63% and 24%, respectively, while the 1-year and 3-year progression-free survival rates were 45% and 14%, respectively. Five of seven patients with complete response (CR) developed recurrent disease. Recurrence sites were distant metastases in four patients and lymph node outside the radiation field in one patient. Chemoradiation should be considered as one of the important treatment options for the loco-regional control in the patients with SCEC.