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THE CURRENT STATUS OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING IN THE USA

  • Webster, John G.
    • Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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    • v.1992 no.05
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    • pp.27-47
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    • 1992
  • Engineers have developed new instruments that aid in diagnosis and therapy Ultrasonic imaging has provided a nondamaging method of imaging internal organs. A complex transducer emits ultrasonic waves at many angles and reconstructs a map of internal anatomy and also velocities of blood in vessels. Fast computed tomography permits reconstruction of the 3-dimensional anatomy and perfusion of the heart at 20-Hz rates. Positron emission tomography uses certain isotopes that produce positrons that react with electrons to simultaneously emit two gamma rays in opposite directions. It locates the region of origin by using a ring of discrete scintillation detectors, each in electronic coincidence with an opposing detector. In magnetic resonance imaging, the patient is placed in a very strong magnetic field. The precessing of the hydrogen atoms is perturbed by an interrogating field to yield two-dimensional images of soft tissue having exceptional clarity. As an alternative to radiology image processing, film archiving, and retrieval, picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) are being implemented. Images from computed radiography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, and ultrasound are digitized, transmitted, and stored in computers for retrieval at distributed work stations. In electrical impedance tomography, electrodes are placed around the thorax. 50-kHz current is injected between two electrodes and voltages are measured on all other electrodes. A computer processes the data to yield an image of the resistivity of a 2-dimensional slice of the thorax. During fetal monitoring, a corkscrew electrode is screwed into the fetal scalp to measure the fetal electrocardiogram. Correlations with uterine contractions yield information on the status of the fetus during delivery To measure cardiac output by thermodilution, cold saline is injected into the right atrium. A thermistor in the right pulmonary artery yields temperature measurements, from which we can calculate cardiac output. In impedance cardiography, we measure the changes in electrical impedance as the heart ejects blood into the arteries. Motion artifacts are large, so signal averaging is useful during monitoring. An intraarterial blood gas monitoring system permits monitoring in real time. Light is sent down optical fibers inserted into the radial artery, where it is absorbed by dyes, which reemit the light at a different wavelength. The emitted light travels up optical fibers where an external instrument determines O2, CO2, and pH. Therapeutic devices include the electrosurgical unit. A high-frequency electric arc is drawn between the knife and the tissue. The arc cuts and the heat coagulates, thus preventing blood loss. Hyperthermia has demonstrated antitumor effects in patients in whom all conventional modes of therapy have failed. Methods of raising tumor temperature include focused ultrasound, radio-frequency power through needles, or microwaves. When the heart stops pumping, we use the defibrillator to restore normal pumping. A brief, high-current pulse through the heart synchronizes all cardiac fibers to restore normal rhythm. When the cardiac rhythm is too slow, we implant the cardiac pacemaker. An electrode within the heart stimulates the cardiac muscle to contract at the normal rate. When the cardiac valves are narrowed or leak, we implant an artificial valve. Silicone rubber and Teflon are used for biocompatibility. Artificial hearts powered by pneumatic hoses have been implanted in humans. However, the quality of life gradually degrades, and death ensues. When kidney stones develop, lithotripsy is used. A spark creates a pressure wave, which is focused on the stone and fragments it. The pieces pass out normally. When kidneys fail, the blood is cleansed during hemodialysis. Urea passes through a porous membrane to a dialysate bath to lower its concentration in the blood. The blind are able to read by scanning the Optacon with their fingertips. A camera scans letters and converts them to an array of vibrating pins. The deaf are able to hear using a cochlear implant. A microphone detects sound and divides it into frequency bands. 22 electrodes within the cochlea stimulate the acoustic the acoustic nerve to provide sound patterns. For those who have lost muscle function in the limbs, researchers are implanting electrodes to stimulate the muscle. Sensors in the legs and arms feed back signals to a computer that coordinates the stimulators to provide limb motion. For those with high spinal cord injury, a puff and sip switch can control a computer and permit the disabled person operate the computer and communicate with the outside world.

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A Study on the Effect of the Bidding Stage Factors of Logistics Outsourcing Service on Trust, Cooperation and Service Satisfaction (물류아웃소싱 서비스의 입찰단계 요인이 신뢰, 협력 및 서비스 만족도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Nam-Seung;Song, Sang-Hwa
    • Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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    • v.36 no.2
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    • pp.19-36
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    • 2020
  • The bidding phase for logistics outsourcing services is critical for both shippers and logistics companies. According to the logistics bidding phase, the shipper should provide logistics operation information to logistics companies to resolve uncertainty. In addition, the logistics company can win the contract volume that was placed in the bid by expressing their experience and know-how, and proposing to share the risks and benefits of the shipper's logistics operation. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the factors that can be identified during the bidding phase for logistics outsourcing and how these factors affect the satisfaction of logistics outsourcing services. Based on the factors identified in the preceding studies on logistics outsourcing partnership factors and those on logistics outsourcing determinants, a survey was conducted on experts engaged in logistics companies, performing logistics for domestic shippers and analyzed using Smart-PLS. This study presents the following implications. First, in the logistics bidding phase, the shipper should provide its logistics operation information to logistics firms to resolve uncertainties. Details An in-depth explanation of the operation details will be presented via the bidding presentation, and on-site tours of manufacturing plants and logistics centers should also be carried out if necessary. Second, in the bidding phase, logistics companies should appeal through proposals to their competitiveness, such as experience and knowledge of the logistics of the shipper, and also consider alliances with other logistics companies to supplement their insufficient logistics services. Third, logistics companies should make proposals to share profits and risks through logistics outsourcing during the bidding phase, propose accepting risks from environmental uncertainties of the shipper within its capacity to an acceptable extent, and share the benefits of carrying out the shipper's logistics.

Institutionalization of the Value of Ecosystem services (생태계 서비스 가치의 제도화)

  • Hwang, Eun-Ju;Chun, Jae-Kyong
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.337-343
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    • 2017
  • This study is going to contribute the activation of ecosystem services written in the 3rd National Basic Plan for Nature Conservation(2016~2025) in Korea. Meanwhile we considered the benefits that the nature has given to the humankind as free goods or services which we may consume traditionally without due payment therefore. But on account of the expansion of cities and expedition of development, as the carrying capacity of the nature has been breached, people have come to try to restore and enhance artificially such vulnerable capacity. It is necessary to compensate the opportunity cost which the land owners or occupiers have to pay for conservation and maintenance of natural capitals which yield the ecosystem services. Therefore the institutionalization of ecosystem services should be established that the consumers who enjoy such services should share the interest from enjoying services with the land owners or occupiers who produce the ecosystem services, under the legal system which will make it possible to connect the benefit sharing with the conservation of environment. However it is the first task that the present legal system could not realize the fair and equitable benefit sharing between the producers and consumers of ecosystem services. And the second task in such legal system is that the value of ecosystem services could not be fully considered in the process of development planning. According to the analysis of this study, the institutionalization of ecosystem services in the government side and the civilian side could be realized to somewhat extent, although not sufficient. Especially the transactions of ecosystem services through the private contract among stakeholder are possible in the course of development planning or without any relevancy to a development project. The final task in the institutionalization of ecosystem services is how to assess the ecosystem services and to value the economic benefits therefrom on the basis of what kinds of procedures relating to some development processes. To overcome such difficulties, it is necessary that the state, trend and change of ecosystem services confronting with a developing project should be assessed concretely at the threshold of development. It is possible to integrate the ecosystem services into the environmental impact assessment(IEA), not by way of the Act of IEA, but by way of the Decree thereof.

GIS-based Disaster Management System for a Private Insurance Company in Case of Typhoons(I) (지리정보기반의 재해 관리시스템 구축(I) -민간 보험사의 사례, 태풍의 경우-)

  • Chang Eun-Mi
    • Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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    • v.41 no.1 s.112
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    • pp.106-120
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    • 2006
  • Natural or man-made disaster has been expected to be one of the potential themes that can integrate human geography and physical geography. Typhoons like Rusa and Maemi caused great loss to insurance companies as well as public sectors. We have implemented a natural disaster management system for a private insurance company to produce better estimation of hazards from high wind as well as calculate vulnerability of damage. Climatic gauge sites and addresses of contract's objects were geo-coded and the pressure values along all the typhoon tracks were vectorized into line objects. National GIS topog raphic maps with scale of 1: 5,000 were updated into base maps and digital elevation model with 30 meter space and land cover maps were used for reflecting roughness of land to wind velocity. All the data are converted to grid coverage with $1km{\times}1km$. Vulnerability curve of Munich Re was ad opted, and preprocessor and postprocessor of wind velocity model was implemented. Overlapping the location of contracts on the grid value coverage can show the relative risk, with given scenario. The wind velocities calculated by the model were compared with observed value (average $R^2=0.68$). The calibration of wind speed models was done by dropping two climatic gauge data, which enhanced $R^2$ values. The comparison of calculated loss with actual historical loss of the insurance company showed both underestimation and overestimation. This system enables the company to have quantitative data for optimizing the re-insurance ratio, to have a plan to allocate enterprise resources and to upgrade the international creditability of the company. A flood model, storm surge model and flash flood model are being added, at last, combined disaster vulnerability will be calculated for a total disaster management system.

Study on economic effects of outsourcing of food materials on the hotel kitchen - Focus on cooking Western food in the first class hotel - (식재료 아웃소싱이 경제적 주방에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구 - 특1급호텔 양식조리를 중심으로 -)

  • 성태종
    • Journal of Applied Tourism Food and Beverage Management and Research
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    • v.13 no.2
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    • pp.45-69
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    • 2002
  • This study is designed to examine feasibility and limitation of outsourcing in cooking Western food in a hotel, to interpret importance of outsourcing(eg. outside order, outside procurement, outside supply) in a broad sense in order to reinforce the core capacity in the cooking department, and to know whether the cooking human power is efficiently used and how much the chefs recognize outsourcing of food materials. As many companies conduct restructuring to cut down its size, the reduction of human power led the Western food cooking in the hotel to lower core capacities, lower quality, and lower efficiency. In addition, the sagging morale of chefs undermined creativity. To change from the traditional kitchen to an economic kitchen needs to look into importance of outsourcing, cognitive attitude of chefs, relation with outside suppliers. Here suggests performance of positive changes in the structure The study examined feasibility and limitation of outsourcing in the hotel kitchen as well as chefs' cognitive attitude toward outsourcing of food materials to reinforce core capabilities of the hotel kitchen. 1. Companies of outsourcing are selected according to variability of price conditions, flexibility of contract conditions, popularity of the outsourcing company, and reputation of the outsourcing company. 2. The importance of outsourcing in the Western food cooking is divided into 4 factors such as standard of selecting outsourcing companies, policies of cooking manu, quality of cooking, and quantity of cooking. 3. The most feasible section in outsourcing of food materials is a process of kneading flour for bread, which shows that many Western-food chefs expect to put higher possibility of outsourcing on the kneading. In other words, when it comes to confectionery and bakery, there are many outside expert processing companies supplying high quality products. In the order of outsourcing feasibility, sauce is followed by processed vegetable, garnish of main dish, and soup. The least feasible section in outsourcing of food materials is appetize. Appetize includes a concept of a improvised dish and needs speed. Due to its color, freshness, and sensibility of taste, the appetize plays a key role in the Western food cooking. 4. When outsourcing is taken in place, the highest risk is to lower the inner cooking skills. Therefore chefs in charge of the Western food sequently recognize both internal problems including storage of cooking skills, unstability of layoffs, and loss of cooperation between departments, and external problems including inferior goods, difficulty of differentiating manu, delay of delivery, and expiration date. It shows that most of the Western food chefs consider risks of the internal problems at first. 5. A effective outsourcing needs appropriate selection of outsourcing companies, maintenance of credibility, active communication, check and management of hygiene. However regardless of their position or career, chefs in charge of the Western food have the same cognitive attitude toward selecting successful outsourcing companies after the outsourcing system is enforced. The core of cooking, or a final stage in the full process of so-called artistic cooking, should be treated with insourcing. Reduction of several cooking processes resulted in shortened cooking time, increased efficiency, faster cooking, cutting the waiting-lines, and finally more room for customers. The outsourcing system can reduce or eliminate the following processes in cooking: buying various food materials, checking, storing, preparing, and processing. Especially in the Western food cooking department of a hotel, the outsourcing system should be enforced to make an economic kitchen and to efficiently manage it. Wow it's time to change from the traditional kitchen to an economic kitchen in the hotel cooking department. For that, the cooking department should become a small but strong organization by outsourcing except its core work.

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Effects of Job Characteristics on Job Burnout and Engagement in School Foodservice Dietitians in Busan Area (부산지역 학교영양(교)사의 직무변인이 직무소진과 직무열의에 미치는 영향)

  • Lyu, Eun-Soon;Lee, Kyung-A
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.46 no.1
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    • pp.132-139
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    • 2017
  • The purpose of this study was to obtain data for contribution of job characteristics (workload, autonomy, reward, community, fairness, and value) to job burnout (emotional exhaustion, and cynicism), and job engagement (vigor, dedication, and absorption) in foodservice dietitians. Our survey was administered to 393 school foodservice dietitians in the Busan area on February 11, 2014. The mean scores of nutrition teachers were significantly higher for autonomy (P<0.01), reward (P<0.05), community (P<0.01), fairness (P<0.001), and value (P<0.001) than unlimited period contract dietitians. The mean scores of high school dietitians were significantly higher for emotional exhaustion (P<0.01) and cynicism (P<0.001) than elementary school dietitians and middle school dietitians. Workload (r=-0.609, P<0.001), reward (r=-0.417, P<0.001), and fairness (r=-0.394, P<0.01) correlated significantly with emotional exhaustion. Reward (r=-0.324) and value (r=-0.423) correlated significantly (P<0.01) with cynicism. Value correlated significantly (P<0.01) with vigor (r=0.493), dedication (r=0.480), and absorption (r=0.460). Workload (${\beta}=-0.521$, P<0.001) had the highest negative influence on emotional exhaustion, whereas value (${\beta}=-0.325$, P<0.001) had the highest negative influence on cynicism. Value had the highest positive influence on vigor (${\beta}=0.392$, P<0.001), dedication (${\beta}=0.443$, P<0.001), and absorption (${\beta}=0.444$, P<0.001). Based on the results of this study, school management should plan job characteristics strategies to reduce workload and increase value for school foodservice dietitians.

Empirical Study for the Appraisal System of Execution Capacity using Correlation Analysis (상관관계분석을 이용한 시공능력평가 제도의 실증적 고찰)

  • Jeong, Keun Chae
    • Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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    • v.19 no.2
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    • pp.3-14
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    • 2018
  • The system to appraise the execution capabilities of construction companies had been began as the Construction Contract Restriction System in 1958, was changed as the Construction Subcontract Restriction System in 1961, and finally has been operated as the Appraisal and Public Announcement of Execution Capacity (APAEC) from 1996. The APAEC system has been utilized as a firm and unique tool for assessing the execution capacities of construction companies despite many problems and continuous system changes. In spite of numerous studies to improve the APAEC system, however, efforts to analyze the system from the empirical point of view were insufficient. In this study, we analyze the status of APAEC system through analyzing correlations among assessment results of the APAEC, earned values of construction works, construction management performance indexes, and macroeconomic indexes for the past 10 years from 2007 to 2016. As a result of the analysis, it was found that Appraisal Value of Execution Capacity (AVEC) is excessively inflated in engineering and landscaping areas compared to Earned Value of Construction Work (EVCW) and the correlations between the AVECs and EVECs are not high in the areas of engineering, industrial equipment, and landscaping. In addition, technical appraisal values are excessively inflated in engineering and landscaping areas and correlations between AVEC and its components are high in the areas of engineering & building, industrial equipment, and large companies, but low in the areas of engineering, building, landscaping, and small and medium companies. Finally, the concentration of the AVEC is intensifying more and more and the concentration deteriorates construction management performance indexes and macroeconomic indexes. If we continuously improve the APAEC system based on the implications derived in this study, the APAEC system will be able to maintain it's position of a firm and unique means to access the execution capacities of construction companies.

Developing a Project and Program Management Capability Assessment System for the Korean Construction Management Firms (국내 CM 기업의 프로젝트 및 프로그램 관리역량 평가를 위한 자가 역량 평가 시스템 개발)

  • Choi, Jaehyun;Son, Jaeho;Kim, Jihye
    • Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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    • v.16 no.1
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    • pp.3-14
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    • 2015
  • Since the global financial crisis, the Korean domestic construction market has continuously experienced downturns, and the Korean domain construction firms'profitability has been persistently deteriorated. Domestic construction firms have rapidly advanced to overseas markets exclusively for the construction contract packages. However, the profitability for the construction contracts has been lower compared to engineering or project management contracts. One of the critical issues the Korean firms have faced was project management capability across all phases in project execution. Even though several project management capability assessment tools were introduced, most tools were applicable to a wide variety of industry sectors rather than construction industry. Project management capability assessment tool specifically applicable to domestic CM firms was developed through this research, in order to assess project and program management capabilities and improve the competitiveness in overseas market Also, the correlation between project, programs, and the CM infrastructure were identified. The CM firms were divided into two groups according to the size of the business, and both were evaluated at the project and the program level based for the 9 different criteria. The project management capability assessment tool developed for the CM firms can be used for self-assessment to distinguish the strengths and weaknesses of each company at the project and program level. In addition, the current status of each group can be identified by spotting improvement areas for the management capabilities.

A Study on the Construction Cost Risk through Analyzing the Actual Cost of Public Apartment (공공주택 실적공사비 분석을 통한 공사비 리스크에 관한 연구)

  • Yoon, Woo-Sung;Go, Seong-Seok
    • Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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    • v.12 no.6
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    • pp.65-78
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    • 2011
  • Construction business, which is complex and long-term business, requires accurate estimation and verification in construction costs and payment procedure from project planning to the completion of construction phase. And more importantly, it is necessary to investigate and determine the risk factors related to construction costs during the entire process including design planning, construction drawings, and quantity calculating. But, currently, it is not seem to be adequate to cope with the risk and increased construction costs against the operational budget in terms of actual costs when screening and estimating the bidding cost of public apartment. Therefore, this study selected and analyzed 40 sites' report of construction completion account from 2004 to 2010 focused on the adequacy on the modification of contract and design planning and on the complication of the budget in the beginning of the project. This study deducted various risk causes and results by analyzing actual costs according to year, architectural area, region, construction cost and sale/lease classification. We could find out construction risk according to annual variation of government policy and economy, and also deducted risk items by construction characteristic according to region and architectural area. Study result, we first found out the problems of lowest price award system according to the construction costs. The weight of the cost increase risk was analyzed that subcontract and material costs are very high. Roof and tile work were analyzed highly in subcontract cost risk and reinforcing bar and cement were analyzed highly in material cost risk, among direct construction cost. Finally, this study results could be used in comparing the categories of the construction costs made by specific construction process, belonging to the construction costs, with the operational budget made in the beginning of the project that can enable to grasp unpredictable risks over the construction costs and making quantitative analysis for it through analyzing the range of fluctuation and variations led by the fluctuations in the actual construction costs.

The Risk Implication of Ownership Structure: Focused on Korean Life Insurance Companies (유배당보험상품에 대한 재무론적 분석)

  • Lee, Kun-Ho;Wee, Kyeong-Woo;Jun, Sang-Gyung
    • The Korean Journal of Financial Management
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    • v.24 no.2
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    • pp.147-181
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    • 2007
  • Our article investigates the risk implication of ownership structure in life insurance companies. We set up a model to identify the priority structure of policyholder's and shareholder's cashflow claims, and to derive its implications. Current literature on this issue has focused on the agency paradigm or the risk-sharing efficiency. Fama and Jensen(1983a, 1983b) and Mayers and Smith(1981, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994) argue that the survival of both the corporate and the mutual form of organization is due in part to the relative efficiencies in controlling agency problems. With regard to insurance business, agency problems arise because of the three functions inherent in the organizations:manager, risk-bearer(owner), and policyholder. Stock insurers are characterized by the potentially complete separation of all three functions while mutual insurers merger the policyholder with the ownership function. Doherty and Dionne(1993) and Doherty(1991) concentrate their analysis on differences in the efficiency of risk sharing between participating and non-participating policies. They argue that when the undiversifiable risk has higher portion in business risk, combining policy and equity claims into a single package is a more efficient risk-sharing contract than a simple prepaid risk-transfer. Among various methods for assembling the policy/equity package, Doherty and Dionne(1993) and Doherty(1991) suggest that policy/equity package offered by the mutual is the most efficient risk-sharing arrangement. There has been a controversy on the property of participating policies sold by life insurance corporations in Korea. Some scholars argue that participating policyholders of Korean life insurance companies have shared the cashflow risk with shareholders. They emphasize that insurance firms have used dividend reserves to supplement for equity deficits. Thus, they argue that the economic entities of Korean life insurance companies are mutual companies though their legal entities are corporations. Our article explicitly sets up each stakeholder's cashflow claim in stock and mutual insurers, and thus identify risk differences in shareholder and policyholder. Using our model, we could derive direct implications on the controversy. Our model shows that life insurance companies would sell participating policies since policyholders would have the incentive to share the risk inherent in their primary claims with equityholders. And there exists a fundamental difference in shareholder's risk and equityholder's.

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