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- Schael, S, et al.
(författare)
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Precision electroweak measurements on the Z resonance
- 2006
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Ingår i: Physics Reports. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 427:5-6, s. 257-454
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the final electroweak measurements performed with data taken at the Z resonance by the experiments operating at the electron-positron colliders SLC and LEP. The data consist of 17 million Z decays accumulated by the ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL experiments at LEP, and 600 thousand Z decays by the SLID experiment using a polarised beam at SLC. The measurements include cross-sections, forward-backward asymmetries and polarised asymmetries. The mass and width of the Z boson, m(Z) and Gamma(Z), and its couplings to fermions, for example the p parameter and the effective electroweak mixing angle for leptons, are precisely measured: m(Z) = 91.1875 +/- 0.0021 GeV, Gamma(Z) = 2.4952 +/- 0.0023 GeV, rho(l) = 1.0050 +/- 0.0010, sin(2)theta(eff)(lept) = 0.23153 +/- 0.00016. The number of light neutrino species is determined to be 2.9840 +/- 0.0082, in agreement with the three observed generations of fundamental fermions. The results are compared to the predictions of the Standard Model (SM). At the Z-pole, electroweak radiative corrections beyond the running of the QED and QCD coupling constants are observed with a significance of five standard deviations, and in agreement with the Standard Model. Of the many Z-pole measurements, the forward-backward asymmetry in b-quark production shows the largest difference with respect to its SM expectation, at the level of 2.8 standard deviations. Through radiative corrections evaluated in the framework of the Standard Model, the Z-pole data are also used to predict the mass of the top quark, m(t) = 173(+10)(+13) GeV, and the mass of the W boson, m(W) = 80.363 +/- 0.032 GeV. These indirect constraints are compared to the direct measurements, providing a stringent test of the SM. Using in addition the direct measurements of m(t) and m(W), the mass of the as yet unobserved SM Higgs boson is predicted with a relative uncertainty of about 50% and found to be less than 285 GeV at 95% confidence level. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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- Abe, O, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy for early breast cancer on recurrence and 15-year survival: an overview of the randomised trials
- 2005
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Ingår i: The Lancet. - 1474-547X. ; 365:9472, s. 1687-1717
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Quinquennial overviews (1985-2000) of the randomised trials in early breast cancer have assessed the 5-year and 10-year effects of various systemic adjuvant therapies on breast cancer recurrence and survival. Here, we report the 10-year and 15-year effects. Methods Collaborative meta-analyses were undertaken of 194 unconfounded randomised trials of adjuvant chemotherapy or hormonal therapy that began by 1995. Many trials involved CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, fluorouracil), anthracycline-based combinations such as FAC (fluorouracil, doxombicin, cyclophosphamide) or FEC (fluorouracil, epirubicin, cyclophosphamide), tamoxifen, or ovarian suppression: none involved taxanes, trastuzumab, raloxifene, or modem aromatase inhibitors. Findings Allocation to about 6 months of anthracycline-based polychemotherapy (eg, with FAC or FEC) reduces the annual breast cancer death rate by about 38% (SE 5) for women younger than 50 years of age when diagnosed and by about 20% (SE 4) for those of age 50-69 years when diagnosed, largely irrespective of the use of tamoxifen and of oestrogen receptor (ER) status, nodal status, or other tumour characteristics. Such regimens are significantly (2p=0 . 0001 for recurrence, 2p<0 . 00001 for breast cancer mortality) more effective than CMF chemotherapy. Few women of age 70 years or older entered these chemotherapy trials. For ER-positive disease only, allocation to about 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen reduces the annual breast cancer death rate by 31% (SE 3), largely irrespective of the use of chemotherapy and of age (<50, 50-69, &GE; 70 years), progesterone receptor status, or other tumour characteristics. 5 years is significantly (2p<0 . 00001 for recurrence, 2p=0 . 01 for breast cancer mortality) more effective than just 1-2 years of tamoxifen. For ER-positive tumours, the annual breast cancer mortality rates are similar during years 0-4 and 5-14, as are the proportional reductions in them by 5 years of tamoxifen, so the cumulative reduction in mortality is more than twice as big at 15 years as at 5 years after diagnosis. These results combine six meta-analyses: anthracycline-based versus no chemotherapy (8000 women); CMF-based versus no chemotherapy (14 000); anthracycline-based versus CMF-based chemotherapy (14 000); about 5 years of tamoxifen versus none (15 000); about 1-2 years of tamoxifen versus none (33 000); and about 5 years versus 1-2 years of tamoxifen (18 000). Finally, allocation to ovarian ablation or suppression (8000 women) also significantly reduces breast cancer mortality, but appears to do so only in the absence of other systemic treatments. For middle-aged women with ER-positive disease (the commonest type of breast cancer), the breast cancer mortality rate throughout the next 15 years would be approximately halved by 6 months of anthracycline-based chemotherapy (with a combination such as FAC or FEC) followed by 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen. For, if mortality reductions of 38% (age <50 years) and 20% (age 50-69 years) from such chemotherapy were followed by a further reduction of 31% from tamoxifen in the risks that remain, the final mortality reductions would be 57% and 45%, respectively (and, the trial results could well have been somewhat stronger if there had been full compliance with the allocated treatments). Overall survival would be comparably improved, since these treatments have relatively small effects on mortality from the aggregate of all other causes. Interpretation Some of the widely practicable adjuvant drug treatments that were being tested in the 1980s, which substantially reduced 5-year recurrence rates (but had somewhat less effect on 5-year mortality rates), also substantially reduce 15-year mortality rates. Further improvements in long-term survival could well be available from newer drugs, or better use of older drugs.
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- Kueppers, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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Triple F-a comet nucleus sample return mission
- 2009
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Ingår i: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 23:3, s. 809-847
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Triple F (Fresh From the Fridge) mission, a Comet Nucleus Sample Return, has been proposed to ESA's Cosmic Vision program. A sample return from a comet enables us to reach the ultimate goal of cometary research. Since comets are the least processed bodies in the solar system, the proposal goes far beyond cometary science topics (like the explanation of cometary activity) and delivers invaluable information about the formation of the solar system and the interstellar molecular cloud from which it formed. The proposed mission would extract three sample cores of the upper 50 cm from three locations on a cometary nucleus and return them cooled to Earth for analysis in the laboratory. The simple mission concept with a touch-and-go sampling by a single spacecraft was proposed as an M-class mission in collaboration with the Russian space agency ROSCOSMOS.
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- Hibbett, D. S., et al.
(författare)
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A higher-level phylogenetic classification of the Fungi
- 2007
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Ingår i: Mycological Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0953-7562 .- 1469-8102. ; 111, s. 509-547
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A comprehensive phylogenetic classification of the kingdom Fungi is proposed, with reference to recent molecular phylogenetic analyses, and with input from diverse members of the fungal taxonomic community. The classification includes 195 taxa, down to the level of order, of which 16 are described or validated here: Dikarya subkingdom nov.; Chytridiomycota, Neocallimastigomycota phyla nov.; Monoblepharidomycetes, Neocallimastigomycetes class. nov.; Eurotiomycetidae, Lecarioromycetidae, Mycocaliciomycetidae subclass. nov.; Acarosporales, Corticiales, Baeomycetales, Candelariales, Gloeophyllales, Melanosporales, Trechisporales, Umbilicariales ords. nov. The clade containing Ascomycota and Basidiomycota is classified as subkingdom Dikarya, reflecting the putative synapomorphy of dikaryotic hyphae. The most dramatic shifts in the classification relative to previous works concern the groups that have traditionally been included in the Chytridiomycota and Zygomycota. The Chytridiomycota is retained in a restricted sense, with Blastocladiomycota and Neocallimastigomycota representing segregate phyla of flagellated Fungi. Taxa traditionally placed in Zygomycota are distributed among Glomeromycota and several subphyla incertae sedis, including Mucoromycotina, Entomophthoromycotina, Kickxellomycotina, and Zoopagomycotiria. Microsporidia are included in the Fungi, but no further subdivision of the group is proposed. Several genera of 'basal' Fungi of uncertain position are not placed in any higher taxa, including Basidiobolus, Caulochytrium, Olpidium, and Rozella. (c) 2007 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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- Kaput, J, et al.
(författare)
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The case for strategic international alliances to harness nutritional genomics for public and personal health
- 2005
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Ingår i: The British journal of nutrition. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0007-1145 .- 1475-2662. ; 94:5, s. 623-632
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nutrigenomics is the study of how constituents of the diet interact with genes, and their products, to alter phenotype and, conversely, how genes and their products metabolise these constituents into nutrients, antinutrients, and bioactive compounds. Results from molecular and genetic epidemiological studies indicate that dietary unbalance can alter gene–nutrient interactions in ways that increase the risk of developing chronic disease. The interplay of human genetic variation and environmental factors will make identifying causative genes and nutrients a formidable, but not intractable, challenge. We provide specific recommendations for how to best meet this challenge and discuss the need for new methodologies and the use of comprehensive analyses of nutrient–genotype interactions involving large and diverse populations. The objective of the present paper is to stimulate discourse and collaboration among nutrigenomic researchers and stakeholders, a process that will lead to an increase in global health and wellness by reducing health disparities in developed and developing countries.
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- Aime, M. C., et al.
(författare)
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An overview of the higher level classification of Pucciniomycotina based on combined analyses of nuclear large and small subunit rDNA sequences
- 2006
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Ingår i: Mycologia. - 0027-5514. ; 98:6, s. 896-905
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study we provide a phylogenetically based introduction to the classes and orders of Pucciniomycotina (=Urediniomycetes), one of three subphyla of Basidiomycota. More than 8000 species of Pucciniomycotina have been described including putative saprotrophs and parasites of plants, animals and fungi. The overwhelming majority of these (similar to 90%) belong to a single order of obligate plant pathogens, the Pucciniales (=Uredinales), or rust fungi. We have assembled a dataset of previously published and newly generated sequence data from two nuclear rDNA genes (large subunit and small subunit) including exemplars from all known major groups in order to test hypotheses about evolutionary relationships among the Pucciniomycotina. The utility of combining nuc-lsu sequences spanning the entire D1-D3 region with complete nuc-ssu sequences for resolution and support of nodes is discussed. Our study confirms Pucciniomycotina as a monophyletic group of Basidiomycota. In total our results support eight major clades ranked as classes (Agaricostilbomycetes, Atractiellomycetes, Classiculomycetes, Cryptomycocolacomycetes, Cystobasidiomycetes, Microbotryomycetes, Mixiomycetes and Pucciniomycetes) and 18 orders.
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- Bishop, D. Timothy, et al.
(författare)
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Genome-wide association study identifies three loci associated with melanoma risk
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 41:8, s. 920-925
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report a genome-wide association study of melanoma conducted by the GenoMEL consortium based on 317K tagging SNPs for 1,650 selected cases and 4,336 controls, with replication in an additional two cohorts (1,149 selected cases and 964 controls from GenoMEL, and a population-based case-control study in Leeds of 1,163 cases and 903 controls). The genome-wide screen identified five loci with genotyped or imputed SNPs reaching P < 5 x 10(-7). Three of these loci were replicated: 16q24 encompassing MC1R (combined P = 2.54 x 10(-27) for rs258322), 11q14-q21 encompassing TYR (P = 2.41 x 10(-14) for rs1393350) and 9p21 adjacent to MTAP and flanking CDKN2A (P = 4.03 x 10(-7) for rs7023329). MC1R and TYR are associated with pigmentation, freckling and cutaneous sun sensitivity, well-recognized melanoma risk factors. Common variants within the 9p21 locus have not previously been associated with melanoma. Despite wide variation in allele frequency, these genetic variants show notable homogeneity of effect across populations of European ancestry living at different latitudes and show independent association to disease risk.
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- Moncalvo, J. M., et al.
(författare)
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The cantharelloid clade: dealing with incongruent gene trees and phylogenetic reconstruction methods
- 2006
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Ingår i: Mycologia. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0027-5514 .- 1557-2536. ; 98:6, s. 937-948
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We reassessed the circumscription of the cantharelloid clade and identified monophyletic groups by using nLSU, nSSU, mtSSU and RPB2 sequence data. Results agreed with earlier studies that placed the genera Cantharellus, Craterellus, Hydnum, Clavulina, Membranomyces, Multiclavula, Sistotrema, Botryobasidium and the family Ceratobasidiaceae in that clade. Phylogenetic analyses support monophyly of all genera except Sistotrema, which was highly polyphyletic. Strongly supported monophyletic groups were: (i) Cantharellus-Craterellus, Hydnum, and the Sistotrema confluens group; (ii) Clavulina-Membranomyces and the S. brinkmannii-oblongisporum group, with Multiclavula being possibly sister of that clade; (iii) the Sistotrema eximum-octosporum group; (iv) Sistotrema adnatum and S. coronilla. Positions of Sistotrema raduloides and S. athelioides were unresolved, as were basal relationships. Botryobasidium was well supported as the sister taxon of all the above taxa, while Ceratobasidiaceae was the most basal lineage. The relationship between Tulasnella and members of the cantharelloid clade will require further scrutiny, although there is cumulative evidence that they are probably sister groups. The rates of molecular evolution of both the large and small nuclear ribosomal RNA genes (nuc-rDNA) are much higher in Cantharellus, Craterellus and Tulasnella than in the other cantharelloid taxa, and analyses of nuc-rDNA sequences strongly placed Tulasnella close to Cantharellus-Craterellus. In contrast analyses with RPB2 and mtSSU sequences placed Tulasnella at the base of the cantharelloid clade. Our attempt to reconstruct a "supertree" from tree topologies resulting from separate analyses that avoided phylogenetic reconstruction problems associated with missing data and/or unalignable sequences proved unsuccessful.
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- Ahuja, SK, et al.
(författare)
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A plea for justice for jailed medical workers
- 2006
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Ingår i: Science (New York, N.Y.). - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 1095-9203 .- 0036-8075. ; 314:5801, s. 924-925
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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17. |
- Huang, C, et al.
(författare)
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The inhomogeneous structure of water at ambient conditions
- 2009
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Ingår i: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 106:36, s. 15214-15218
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is used to demonstrate the presence of density fluctuations in ambient water on a physical length-scale of approximate to 1 nm; this is retained with decreasing temperature while the magnitude is enhanced. In contrast, the magnitude of fluctuations in a normal liquid, such as CCl4, exhibits no enhancement with decreasing temperature, as is also the case for water from molecular dynamics simulations under ambient conditions. Based on X-ray emission spectroscopy and X-ray Raman scattering data we propose that the density difference contrast in SAXS is due to fluctuations between tetrahedral-like and hydrogen-bond distorted structures related to, respectively, low and high density water. We combine our experimental observations to propose a model of water as a temperature-dependent, fluctuating equilibrium between the two types of local structures driven by incommensurate requirements for minimizing enthalpy (strong near-tetrahedral hydrogen-bonds) and maximizing entropy (non-directional H-bonds and disorder). The present results provide experimental evidence that the extreme differences anticipated in the hydrogen-bonding environment in the deeply supercooled regime surprisingly remain in bulk water even at conditions ranging from ambient up to close to the boiling point.
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- Hareter, M., et al.
(författare)
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MOST discovers a multimode delta Scuti star in a triple system : HD 61199
- 2008
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 492:1, s. 185-195
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. A field star, HD61199 (V approximate to 8), simultaneously observed with Procyon by the MOST (Microvariability & Oscillations of STars) satellite in continuous runs of 34, 17, and 34 days in 2004, 2005, and 2007, was found to pulsate in 11 frequencies in the delta Scuti range with amplitudes from 1.7 down to 0.09 mmag. The photometry also showed variations with a period of about four days. To investigate the nature of the longer period, 45 days of time-resolved spectroscopy was obtained at the Thuringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg in 2004. The radial velocity measurements indicate that HD61199 is a triple system. Aims. A delta Scuti pulsator with a rich eigenspectrum in a multiple system is promising for asteroseismology. Our objectives were to identify which of the stars in the system is the delta Scuti variable and to obtain the orbital elements of the system and the fundamental parameters of the individual components, which are constrained by the pulsation frequencies of the delta Scuti star.Methods. Classical Fourier techniques and least-squares multi-sinusoidal fits were applied to the MOST photometry to identify the pulsation frequencies. The groundbased spectroscopy was analysed with least-squares-deconvolution (LSD) techniques, and the orbital elements derived with the KOREL and ORBITX routines. Asteroseismic models were also generated. Results. The photometric and spectroscopic data are compatible with a triple system consisting of a close binary with an orbital period of 3.57 days and a d Scuti companion (HD61199 A) as the most luminous component. The d Scuti star is a rapid rotator with about v sin i = 130 km s(-1) and an upper mass limit of about 2.1 M-circle dot. For the close binary components, we find they are of nearly equal mass, with lower mass limits of about 0.7 M-circle dot. Comparisons to synthetic spectra indicate these stars have a late-F spectral type. The observed oscillation frequencies are compared to pulsation models to further constrain the evolutionary state and mass of HD61199 A. The orbit frequency of the close binary corresponds to the difference of the two d Scuti frequencies with the highest amplitudes a coincidence that is remarkable, but not explained.
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25. |
- Ho, Kok Sun, et al.
(författare)
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Ileal pouch anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis is feasible for septuagenarians.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland. - : Wiley. - 1462-8910. ; 8:3, s. 235-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Proctocolectomy and ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) has become the standard surgery for patients with mucosal ulcerative colitis (MUC). Although there is no absolute age limitation, there are concerns as to its use in elderly patients due to the risks of potential complications and poor function. The aim of this study was to assess the complications and outcome of patients over the age of 70 years with MUC who underwent IPAA. Results in these patients were compared to the results in a group of patients aged less than 70 years who had IPAA. METHODS: After Institutional Review Board approval, a retrospective review of the medical records of patients with MUC who underwent IPAA was undertaken. These patients were divided into four age groups: <30 years of age, 30-49 years, 50-69 years, >or=70 years. RESULTS: From 1989 to 2001, 330 patients underwent IPAA for preoperative clinical and histopathological and postoperative histopathologically confirmed MUC; 17 were aged>or=70 years. The mean hospital stay was 5.8 (SEM 0.7) days in the patients aged<70 years and 6.0 (SEM 0.4) days in the patients aged>or=70 years (P=0.911). Postoperative complications occurred in 39% of patients>or=70 years and in 40% in the <70 years group (P=0.08). Pouch failure occurred in two (11.8%) patients>or=70 years and in 6 (1.9%)<70 (P=0.2). CONCLUSION: IPAA is a safe and feasible option in MUC patients over the age of 70 with functional results similar to results seen in younger patients.
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