Snow On Japan's Roads

 This post is taken from IZULAT blog repost here.

Japan – According to the news recently last January 19,2021 Tuesday, another snow related incident happens on Japan’s roads. A pile up of 130 vehicles collided each other on the Tohoku Expressway leaving one dead and 10 injured because of a heavy snowfall that cover the road or the expressway. Those people who are involved in the incident were given food, water, and blankets to keep them warm.

“A huge snowstorm has struck a highway in north Japan, causing a 130-car pile-up, killing one person and injuring 10. The storm blanketed a stretch of the Tohoku Expressway in Miyagi prefecture at around noon (03:00 GMT) on Tuesday. Some 200 people have been caught up in the pile-up and rescuers are currently at the scene, officials said.”(BBC)

 

“One person died and at least 10 were injured after the vehicles collided. Authorities had already enforced a 50km (31mile) speed limit on the road due to visibility. There was a maximum wind speed of about 100km/h (62mph) at the time of the incident, local weather officials said. Those who were involved have been given drinking water and food, and have been provided with blankets to keep warm.”(BBC)

 

In another incident prior to it, according to the news, more than 1200 vehicles and drivers were trapped and stranded on the snow filled road of Hokuriku Expressway with six feet snow on the island of Honshu.

 

Last December 2020, a similar incident also happens stranding 1000 vehicles on Kanetsu Expressway, according to the news.

 

The main point: Snow on roads incident happens one after the another on Japan’s expressways stranding vehicles and people particularly according to the news on Kanetsu Expressway, Hokuriku Expressway, and more recently on Tohoku Expressway.

image from Washington Post website

image from Washington Post website

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Life On Earth Where Begin

 This post is taken from IZULAT blog repost here

Scientists are rethinking where does life begin on earth if it is not on water as formerly believed for yes water is essential to life but it also destroy the essential of life like DNA and break down other molecules.

Now they are thinking that the “first biological cell” may have been formed on land and not springing up from the sea or water which they formerly believed or on bodies of water on land.

“Life might have begun in bodies of water on land, perhaps in craters similar to Canada’s Lake Manicouagan, formed by an ancient impact.”(Nature)

“Narrowing down the location where life started will require understanding of the broader picture of prebiotic chemistry: how the many reactions fit together, and the ranges of conditions under which they occur. That mammoth task has been attempted by a group led by chemist Sara Szymkuć, president of the start-up firm Allchemy in Highland, Indiana. The team published a comprehensive study in September that used a computer algorithm to explore how a vast network of known prebiotic reactions could have produced many of the biological molecules used in life today.” (Nature)

Scientists are doing experiments and studies regarding the idea that life may started on land on the small bodies of water on it. Some come up with some ideas that can support the idea that life on earth may begin on the small bodies of water on land.

The main point : Scientists were rethinking where life on earth begin and adopt a new idea that life could begin on land and not on the sea.

image from Nature website

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Camels Die From Eating Plastics

 This post is taken from IZULAT blog repost here

In the United Arab Emirates or UAE, about 1 % of camels there die because of ingesting and eating plastics which the camel mistake for a food. When the camels eat plastic, they have a feeling their stomach is full or not feeling hungry thus they die because of not eating any real foods. The type of camels on UAE are dromedary camels or Camelus dromedarius.

“As dromedaries roam the desert looking for food, they munch on plastic bags and other trash that drift into trees and pile up along roadsides. “From the camel’s perspective … if it’s not sand, it’s food,”……With a stomach full of plastic, camels don’t eat because they don’t feel hungry, and they starve to death. Plastic can also leach toxins and introduce bacteria that poison the one-humped mammals….”(Science News)

The ingested or eaten plastic materials is called “polybezoar”. It is not actually pure plastic thing but a combination of plastics, ropes, and other things trapped in the digestive tract or stomach that are stone-like mass.

“We define the ingested waste as a polybezoar, a collection of tightly packed indigestible materials which can include plastics, ropes, other litter and salt deposits trapped in the stomach or digestive tract forming a large stone-like mass.” (Science Direct)

“When camels eat plastic, it accumulates into enormous, stomach-clogging masses called polybezoars. Researchers found these polybezoars — the biggest of which weighs almost 64 kilograms — inside dead camels in the desert near Dubai…”(Science News)

“Polybeozars lead to gastrointestinal blockages, sepsis from increased gut bacteria, dehydration and malnutrition.”(Science Direct)

The main point : Camels or dromedary camels in United Arab Emirates or UAE die because of eating plastics which are trapped in their digestive tract or stomach which are called “polybezoars”.

 

image from Science News website

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No Fingerprints People

 This post is taken from IZULAT blog repost here

Fingerprints nowadays is important regarding legal documents and others that require fingerprints but what if you and some of the member of your family have no fingerprints in their fingers? That is the case reported on BBC website about the Sarker family which suffered due to lack of fingerprints on their fingers. But Sarker family is not the only family in the world who suffer from being no fingerprints among the members of their family there are there who suffer the same fate.

The condition according to the information in the internet, is a rare condition and is not common among families and members of the families. The rare condition is called “Adermatoglyphia. ” or “Immigration Delay Disease”

“Almost every person is born with fingerprints, and everyone's are unique. But people with a rare disease known as adermatoglyphia do not have fingerprints from birth. Affecting only four known extended families worldwide, the condition is also called immigration-delay disease, since a lack of fingerprints makes it difficult for people to cross international borders. In an effort to find the cause of the disease, dermatologist Eli Sprecher sequenced the DNA of 16 members of one family with adermatoglyphia in Switzerland. Seven had normal fingerprints, and the other nine did not. After investigating a number of genes to find evidence of mutation, the researchers came up empty-handed—until a grad student finally found the culprit, a smaller version of a gene called SMARCAD1. ….The larger SMARCAD1 is expressed throughout the body, but the smaller form acts only on the skin. Sure enough, the nine family members with no fingerprints had mutations in that gene. Being born without fingerprints doesn't occur simply because one gene has been turned on or off, Sprecher said. Rather, the mutation causes copies of the SMARCAD1 gene to be unstable. That mutation is also the first link in a long chain of events that ultimately affects fingerprint development in the womb. The rest of the links in the chain are still a mystery, said Sprecher, of the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.”(National Geographic)

“The finger pads of people with adermatoglyphia are entirely flat—they have none of the arching or looping ridges that characterize the fingerprints of virtually all humans. Otherwise, though, people with the condition are entirely healthy, minus a slightly reduced number of sweat glands. There are other genetic disorders (including NFJS and dermatopathia pigmentosa reticularis) that lead to missing fingerprints, but they also cause much more severe health impacts, such as thin, brittle hair and teeth.”(Smithsonian Mag)

The main point : No fingerprints on one’s fingers nowadays are likely to suffer about legal documents and other matters that requires one’s fingerprints thus the condition is called “immigration delay disease”. The condition is also called “Adermatoglyphia. ” The condition is rare.

image from Science Mag website

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Biggest Iceberg In The World Toward South Georgia Island

 This post is taken from IZULAT blog repost here

World’ biggest iceberg name “A68a” according to the news is headed in collision toward the South Georgia island putting the wildlife in the island particularly penguins there in great danger.

“The mass is now moving straight toward a remote south Atlantic island populated by penguins and seals. Scientists say a collision could cause a local, environmental catastrophe. Iceberg A68a has been on a slow journey toward cataclysm. The mass broke from the Antarctic peninsula’s Larsen C ice shelf in July 2017 and headed slowly for the open ocean, sliding through the water for over two years until it hit the powerful Antarctic Circumpolar Current circling the southernmost continent. And then, like a speed skater, it was on its way. The current propelled the berg on a fast track through what scientists call “iceberg alley,” a northeast route traveled by chunks of ice that break from the peninsula…. A68a broke off as a 5,800-square-kilometer mass….. It’s now headed straight for South Georgia Island, a British overseas territory in the southern Atlantic, where within days it could smash into the remote world teeming with wildlife. “It is really, really close, less than 50 kilometers away,” making a collision almost inevitable,…..” (Reuters)

“Scientists expect the iceberg to grind over the seabed, crushing the island’s underwater life. If the berg lodges at the island’s flank, it could remain a fixture for up to 10 years before the ice melts or breaks away, Tarling said. That could block some of the island’s 2 million penguins – including King penguins, Gentoos, Macaronis and Chinstraps – from reaching the waters to feed their young. The melting freshwater could also make the waters inhospitable for phytoplankton and other sea creatures that are crucial parts of the food chain. “There’s nothing that’s really been that large before in scientific history that we’ve seen coming up to South Georgia,”…. The iceberg is larger than 66 countries or territories, including Singapore, Luxembourg and Brunei.”(Reuters)

“The iceberg is comparable in size to many well-known islands. A68a is very similar in size and shape to Jamaica, almost as long as the U.S. territory Puerto Rico, and dwarfs China’s Hong Kong Island as well as the Southeast Asian city state of Singapore. Observers from the British Antarctic Survey told media that a flight last year over the A68a took about one and a half hours. The berg is so big, Royal Air Force pilots this week were unable to capture it all in one, single photograph.”(Reuters)

“An enormous iceberg is heading toward South Georgia Island in the southern Atlantic, where scientists say a collision could devastate wildlife by threatening the food chain….. The gigantic iceberg - dubbed A68a - is on a path to collide with South Georgia Island, a remote British overseas territory off the southern tip of South America. Whether that collision is days or weeks away is unclear, as the iceberg has sped up and slowed down with the ocean currents along the way, said Geraint Tarling, a biological oceanographer with the British Antarctic Survey who has been tracking the icy mass. A collision, while looking increasingly likely, could still be avoided if the currents carry the iceberg past the island, Tarling said. The currents "still have the power to take this iceberg in one direction or another away from South Georgia," Tarling said in an interview on Wednesday. "But it is really, really close, less than 50 kilometers away from the south shelf edge. That's getting so close that it's almost inevitable."”(SMH)

 

“Images captured by a British Royal Air Force aircraft show the magnitude of the monstrous, 4,200-square-km iceberg, its surface carved with tunnels, cracks and fissures. A number of smaller ice chunks can be seen floating nearby. "The sheer size of the A68a iceberg means it is impossible to capture its entirety in one single shot," British officials said in a statement. Still, the berg is diminished from its original size of 5,800 square kms, measured when the mass broke off from Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf 2-1/2 years ago.”(SMH)

 

The main point : World’s biggest iceberg name “A68a” is headed toward the South Georgia island that might endanger the wildlife in the island particularly the many penguins there.

 

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Dogs Were Domesticated Long Ago

 

This post is taken from IZULAT blog repost here

Study says dog race has been domesticated since long ago as human’s companion and according to the news, dogs were derived from a wolf race that has been domesticated and become the present dog race. The news said the present dog race come from domestication of wolf-derived animals that has evolved; and it present or evident on their genetic makeup or DNA.

“Dogs are thought to have evolved from wolves that ventured into human camps, perhaps sniffing around for food. As they were tamed, they could then have served humans as hunting companions or guards. The results suggest all dogs derive from a single extinct wolf population - or perhaps a few very closely related ones. If there were multiple domestication events around the world, these other lineages did not contribute much DNA to later dogs. Dr Skoglund[ Dr Pontus Skoglund, co-author of the study and group leader of the Ancient Genomics laboratory at London's Crick Institute ]said it was unclear when or where the initial domestication occurred. "Dog history has been so dynamic that you can't really count on it still being there to readily read in their DNA. We really don't know - that's the fascinating thing about it."”(BBC)

 

“Greger Larson, a co-author from the University of Oxford, said: "Dogs are our oldest and closest animal partner. Using DNA from ancient dogs is showing us just how far back our shared history goes and will ultimately help us understand when and where this deep relationship began."”(BBC)

 

“The origin of the domestic dog includes the dog's genetic divergence from the wolf, its domestication, and its development into dog types and dog breeds. The dog is a member of the wolf-like canids and was the first species and the only large carnivore to have been domesticated. Genetic studies show that dogs and modern wolves display reciprocal monophyly (separate groups), which implies that dogs are not genetically close to any living wolf population and that the wild ancestor of the dog is extinct. An extinct Late Pleistocene wolf may have been the ancestor of the dog, with the dog's similarity to the extant grey wolf being the result of genetic admixture between the two. In 2020, a literature review of canid domestication stated that modern dogs were not descended from the same Canis lineage as modern wolves, and proposes that dogs may be descended from a Pleistocene wolf closer in size to a village dog.^” (Wikipedia)

 

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The Uncrushable Insect

 

Recently, researchers or scientists have discovered the secret of the tough and “uncrushable” insect - diabolical ironclad beetle or Phloeodes diabolicus. The insect is really tough which can withstand 149 newton forces and even run over by a vehicle.

The insect secret is its interlocking jigsaw shape joints on its exoskeleton.

 

“Equipped with super-tough body armour, the insect can survive being stamped on or even run over by a car. Now scientists have investigated the secrets of how the beetle can withstand forces up to 39,000 times its body weight.” (BBC)

 

“The researchers used microscopy, spectroscopy and mechanical testing, to identify a series of interlocked jigsaw-shaped joints within the exoskeleton, which allow the beetle to withstand forces of up to 149 Newtons (approximately 39,000 times the creature's body weight).”(BBC)

 

“Now scientists have found a jigsaw-like mechanism in their exoskeletons that helps the little creature tolerate forces up to 39,000 times its own body weight….. The beetle, which no longer has its ancestors' ability to fly away from predators, has developed crush-resistant exoskeletal forewings -- called elytra -- as a form of protection, according to the new study published in the journal Nature.”(Bangkok Post)

 

“Using advanced imaging techniques, the researchers saw that the beetle has a series of interlocked jigsaw-shaped joints in its elytra and found that the shape of these blades and their laminated microstructure acted to toughen the exoskeleton.” (Bangkok Post)

image from Bangkok Post website

 

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Spinach As Source of Energy

 

Recent findings of scientist say spinach can be a new and more effective catalyst that the commercial platinum catalyst; it can be an effective sustainable source or energy and fuel. However, the spinach as catalyst is not yet available in the real world according to the news.

“Scientists from the American University (AU) have found a way to use spinach as a catalyst for an oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells and metal-air batteries. It works by accelerating the reaction to produce sufficient current and create energy.”(Energy Live News)

“The research says spinach was chosen as it contains considerable amounts of iron and nitrogen among other elements, which are important for catalysts. It can also survive in low temperatures and is abundant in nature. The scientists converted spinach from its leafy, edible form into carbon nanosheets through a process that included washing, juicing and grinding it into a powder that was used in the laboratory tests.” (Energy Live News)

‘Typically, carbon-based catalysts fail to outperform platinum. But lightly-salted spinach leaves that were blended, freeze-dried, and heat-treated into layers of nanosheets were more efficient than platinum fuel cells, according to research published last month in the journal ACS Omega.” (Futursim)

““The method we tested can produce highly active, carbon-based catalysts from spinach, which is a renewable biomass. In fact, we believe it outperforms commercial platinum catalysts in both activity and stability.”” (Energy Live News)

“There’s a long way to go before a spinach cell is actually useful in the real world — the new research merely proved that the concept works, Ars reports.” (Futurism)

Spinach  ( image form Shutterstock and Energy Live News website)

 

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Naturalist Couple

 

Have you heard a “naturalist” people? The term can be interpreted by being attune to nature; yup much about being with nature but in this writing, it means not only being with nature but being with nature “NAKED”. This a naturalist Belgian couple in their 30s made a presence in the internet by creating a site dedicated to showcase their nude adventures and inform readers about resorts or places in the world that are nude-friendly or naturalist-friendly. This kind of lifestyle is called “Naturalism” or “Nudism”. This couple is Nick and Lins De Corte.

The couple travel the world naked as possible and visiting places that tolerates an accepts naturalism or nudism and debunking misconceptions about naturalism or nudism.

“Thirty-something Belgian couple Nick and Lins are naturists. They travel the world unclothed wherever possible, documenting their adventures on their blog, Naked Wanderings, and a corresponding Instagram account.” (CNN)

“The De Cortes are both from the city of Ghent in Belgium, where they met and got together about 12 years ago.” (CNN)

“The couple's internet presence aimed both to showcase their fun adventures, and provide information on the naturist lifestyle, and nude-friendly resorts across the world.” (CNN)

 

 

 

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Micro Snail In The Philippines

 

Philippines – Recently, a team of Filipino scientists have found a species of micro snail at Rizal Philippines in the Masungi Georeserve with only a size of an ant where quite 99.8 % genetically similar to what they found on Baguio city Philippines but also have differences in shell size and number of teeth.

The species is called Hypselostoma latispira masungiensis.

“Filipino scientists have discovered a new subspecies of the microsnail, named Hypselostoma latispia masungiensis, at the Masungi Georeserve in Rizal…….. "The discovery of the new subspecies highlights the importance of Masungi and other karst ecosystems as areas of high conservation value," the Masungi Georeserve Foundation said in a statement. A team of scientists from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños first found the microsnail in 2017, noting its similarity to the H. latispira in Baguio City. Microsnails have shells measuring less than 5 millimeters, or about the size of an ant….. After three years of study and analyses, the researchers found that the snails from Baguio and Rizal differed in size but had 99.8-percent genetic similarity. The snail in Baguio has a smaller shell size and four apertural teeth inside while the new subspecies has five teeth.” (CNN Philippines)

The Micro Snail (image from CNN Philippines webiste)

 

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Spooky Large Spiderweb

 

Missouri US – The employee of Missouri Department of Conservation has photograph a large spiderweb that the news said is spooky and can catch humans into it while on their trail.

The spiderweb is said to be made by an orb weaver spider according to the news.

“A Missouri Department of Conservation employee snapped a photograph of a huge spiderweb, and the department's social media followers couldn't help but comment on its spooky appearance.” (CNN)

“The web was made by an orb weaver spider, an arachnid known for its intricate web designs. They are large in size -- approximately a half-inch for females -- and are usually hairy or furry, according to the department's website. The spiders help to control the population of flies and other annoying bugs, but that's not the first thing that comes to mind.” (CNN)

The Large Spiderweb ( image from CNN website)

 

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Plants And Animals To Be Edited For Climate Change

 

Study says that editing the genes of plants and animals could help us humans and could contribute in controlling climate change problem in our planet. Experts will use a technology to do the editing.

“Editing the genes of plants and animals could help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and other sectors, according to a report highlighting the possible uses of the technology. Why it matters: For too long the potential of biotechnology to address climate change has taken a back seat to engineering, chemistry and energy. But new advances in gene editing could make farming more efficient and take carbon out of the atmosphere.” (Axios)

“Gene editing and selective breeding could reduce emissions from ruminant animals like cattle, which amount to perhaps 2.86 billion tons of CO2 equivalent per year.”(Axios)

“By gene editing plants to improve their use of photosynthesis, they could become much more effective at capturing and sequestering carbon from the air.(Axios)

 

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Death Of Elephants

 

In Botswana Africa there are recent found of more than 300 elephants’ carcasses or dead bodies of elephants where then authorities baffled and found the deaths to be mysterious. But now recently they now know the cause.

According to what they have discovered or findings, the cause of mysterious death is a toxin produce by a bacteria called “cyanobacteria” in the water. The elephants may have drunk a water together with the toxin. This bacteria produces toxin that not only can kill animals but also humans.

“Officials in Botswana say the deaths of hundreds of elephants in recent months which baffled and alarmed conservationists in the country were caused by toxins produced by cyanobacteria in water….."Our latest tests have detected cyanobacterial neurotoxins to be the cause of deaths. These are bacteria found in water," Mmadi Reuben, principal veterinary officer at the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, told a news conference on Monday.” (Aljazeera)

“Toxins made by microscopic algae in water caused the previously unexplained deaths of hundreds of elephants in Botswana, wildlife officials say.”(BBC)

image from Aljazeera website 

 

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Fast Growing And Dying Plants

Recent study says that too much carbon dioxide makes plants grow fast yet makes them also die fast or die early or die young. This happening put the role of forests in the planet as carbon sink at risk.

Carbon overload not only kills plants as the news said but also contribute to climate change of course because of too much of it in the atmosphere.

If this condition persists, we can expect of loosing plants or forests as our helper on our carbon dioxide problem.

“" This carbon overload is caused mainly when we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas or cut down and burn forests.”(Union of Concerned Scientists)

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Plants Can Help Find Corpse

Recently scientists have been studying or will use plants in searching human corpses or remains in the forest as a help for foot and aerial searches to fast the operation.

Scientist said plants reacts on the environment they are near particularly on a dead decomposing bodies and it affects their chemistry and can shown on colors particularly on plants’ leaves.

“After death, our bodies decompose, releasing certain chemicals, and, if our body is laid to rest on the ground, these chemicals alter the state of the surrounding plants. These traces of humanity are faint echoes of our former selves, but by studying decomposing bodies, scientists hope to one day use these clues in the search for missing people. In a new study, a team of researchers lay out the potential of 'forensic botany' – a new understanding of plant chemistry that could make search-and-rescue missions both faster and more accurate.” (Inverse)

“A prime candidate for tracing remains is nitrogen, which is associated with increased chlorophyll. Decomposing bodies add nutrients like nitrogen to the ground, changing the chemistry of nearby plants. A surge in the nutrient could cause a "greening" effect on tree leaves.” (Inverse)

image from Cell website

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Antibodies Of Animals For COVID-19

Experts recently do an experimental trial on the antibodies of horses and llamas and they have found out that these animals have the capacity to resist COVID-19 and kill it or by their antibodies.

Now experts are getting the antibodies of these animals as therapy or treatment for people who have and suffering of COVID-19.

Perhaps, not only these animals, I learn they are also testing other animals.

It is great they have produce another alternative treatment for COVID-19 now on animal antibodies.

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Red Lips Flower

For those who do not know this flower or plant, I will share this to you. The name of the plant is “Psychotria Elata”; aka “Hooker’s Lips”.

“Palicourea elata (formerly Psychotria elata.^[1]), commonly known as hot lips,^[2] and labios de puta,^[3] is a tropical plant that ranges from Central to South American rain forests in countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and Colombia.^[4] Palicourea elata is extremely sensitive and requires specific climates to grow, those climates most like rainforests are best suitable for this plant. It is most notable for its distinctly shaped red bracts and is consequently nicknamed “Hot Lips”. Though the bright red bracts are considered its most flashy feature, they are not the actual flowers of the plant but instead extravagant leaves; the flowers of Palicourea elata lie within the “red lip” leaves.^[5] Just like human lips, the hot lips plant comes in a variety of shapes and forms offering a vast array of plants. P. elata is well-studied and has been documented over centuries to provide various health benefits to native communities. Due to these benefits and the overall appearance of the plant, it has been over-harvested and is now endangered.” (Wikipedia)

image from Bez Ogrodek website

image from Amazon.de website

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Android Phone Now An Earthquake Detector

According to the news, android phones are now powered and equipped with earthquake detector software or application which make it as a mini seismometer on your hand.

Google was inspired about its installment on android phones.

According to the news, the application is called “ShakeAlert” .This new feature will help people be inform and be ready for coming and ongoing earthquake.

image from The Verge website

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