The diagnostic yield of the UTB method is higher than that of the TB-GS method. Clinical trial registered with www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/ (UMIN 000003177).

Purpose: It is not clear whether women with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) live significantly longer than men. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis of published studies to quantitatively compare NSCLC survival data between genders. Materials and Methods: A MEDLINE Web search for computer-archived bibliographic data regarding overall survival differences between genders was performed. DerSimonian-Laird random effects analysis was used to estimate the pooled hazard ratio (HR). Results: We selected 39 articles as appropriate data sources, involving 86 800 patients including 32 701 women and 54 099 men. Combined HRs for women vs. men in studies using univariate and multivariate analyses respectively were 0.79 (p <0.0001) and 0.78 (p <0.0001). Pooled HRs for 3 study subgroups having (1) fewer than 30% stage I cases, (2) fewer than 50% adenocarcinoma cases, and (3) statistical adjustment for smoking status all indicated the survival advantage of women. Conclusion: This meta-analysis of published data concerning NSCLC patients indicated significantly better survival for women.

The proton motive force (PMF) renders protein translocation across the Escherichia coli membrane highly efficient, although the underlying mechanism has not been clarified. The membrane insertion and deinsertion of SecA coupled to ATP binding and hydrolysis, respectively, are thought to drive the translocation. We report here that PMF significantly decreases the level of membrane-inserted SecA. The prlA4 mutation of SecY, which causes efficient protein translocation in the absence of PMF, was found to reduce the membraneinserted SecA irrespective of the presence or absence of PMF. The PMF-dependent decrease in the membraneinserted SecA caused an increase in the amount of SecA released into the extra-membrane milieu, indicating that PMF deinserts SecA from the membrane. The PMF-dependent deinsertion reduced the amount of SecA required for maximal translocation activity. Neither ATP hydrolysis nor exchange with external SecA was required for the PMF-dependent deinsertion of SecA. These results indicate that the SecA deinsertion is a limiting step of protein translocation and is accelerated by PMF, efficient protein translocation thereby being caused in the presence of PMF.

It is argued that the familiar algebra of the non-commutative space-time with c-number θ µν is inconsistent from a theoretical point of view. Consistent algebras are obtained by promoting θ µν to an anti-symmetric tensor operatorθ µν . The simplest among them is Doplicher-Fredenhagen-Roberts (DFR) algebra in which the triple commutator among the coordinate operators is assumed to vanish. This allows us to define the Lorentz-covariant operator fields on the DFR algebra as operators diagonal in the 6-dimensional θ-space of the hermitian operators,θ µν . It is shown that we then recover Carlson-Carone-Zobin (CCZ) formulation of the Lorentz-invariant non-commutative gauge theory with no need of compactification of the extra 6 dimensions. It is also pointed out that a general argument concerning the normalizability of the weight function in the Lorentz metric leads to a division of the θ-space into two disjoint spaces not connected by any Lorentz transformation so that the CCZ covariant moment formula holds true in each space, separately. A non-commutative generalization of Connes' two-sheeted Minkowski space-time is also proposed. Two simple models of quantum field theory are reformulated on M 4 × Z 2 obtained in the commutative limit. * ) The following commutator should be added, [M µν ,p ρ ] = i(g νρpµ − g µρpν ). * * ) There exists no constant anti-symmetric tensor. If f µν (p) is a constant symmetric tensor g µν , the coordinate operators commute with each other. We consider a contrary case in what follows. * ) Hence, there is no * -product in what follows. * * ) The matrix γ 5 = iγ 0 γ 1 γ 2 γ 3 is inserted for later convenience. * ) The differential geometry on M 4 ×Z 2 was developed in Ref. 8) and we can use it for the case under consideration. The following presentation is only a translation of the result in Ref. 8).

Photoreduction processes of excited benzophenone (BP) by N,N-dimethylaniline (DMA) in acetonitrile solution were studied by means of picosecond-femtosecond laser photolysis and time resolved transient absorption spectroscopy as well as transient photoconductivity measurement. Proton transfer process in the triplet ion pair formed by electron transfer (ET) at encounter between 3BP* and DMA, competing with the ionic dissociation process was observed. It was clearly demonstrated that, in addition to the triplet ion pair, the ion pair produced by the excitation of the CT complex between BP and DMA formed in the ground state and that produced by ET reaction between 1BP* and DMA played important roles in the reaction processes of excited benzophenone. The behaviors of the three kinds of ion pairs were investigated in detail, leading to the elucidation of reaction mechanism of each ion pair. The reactivity characteristic of each kind of the ion pair and its relation to the structure of the ion pair were discussed.