|
The Grecian Eyes: RADAR Gets €500,000 in
Government Funds for Early Dyslexia Screening to Aid 1,500 Children of Crete |
 |
|| Thursday: June 20: 2019 || ά. RADAR, a new non-invasive screening
platform, developed by RADARMISSION Ltd to identify children at high risk of
Dyslexia and related reading disorders, will deploy its first at scale neuro-biological
testing programme, ‘Defeat Dyslexia’ in Crete, Greece. The initiative,
conducted in co-operation with the Hellenic Mediterranean University and the
Region of Crete will receive €500,000 Euro in funding, approved by Crete’s
Governor Mr Stavros Arnaoutakis.
This programme will, initially, target 1,500 children and, eventually, all
the children on the island. "Here on Crete, we are addressing many pressing
concerns, including, infrastructure modernisation, efforts at sustainability
and job creation but, none is more crucial than ensuring the future for our
children's.” said Mr Arnaoutakis, the Governor of Crete. “We believe this
co-operation with Dr Aslanides and his RADAR team will help eliminate a huge
hurdle, that, might, otherwise, affect many of our school children."
The study will run at the RADAR Emmetropia Eye Institute headquarters under
the direct supervision of the Hellenic Mediterranean University alongside
the inter-disciplinary team, led by one of the world’s most prominent
ophthalmologists, Dr Ioannis Aslanides. The epidemiological study is the
first of its kind where doctors, speech therapists, informatics specialists
and social workers monitor the prevalence of Dyslexia and reading
abnormalities. This digital diagnostic approach will lay the foundation for
digital-based customised treatments for the first time, as well.
With more than 4,000 experiments completed and on-going evaluation studies
at Harvard University in the United States and Cardiff Metropolitan
University in the United Kingdom, the RADAR method of screening is the
first-ever objective and quantifiable early screening method for Dyslexia.
“When we first began developing RADAR a decade ago, the mission was to
defeat Dyslexia and the horrible effects the anomaly exacts on so many.”
said Dr Aslanides. “Now, with the help of some of the world’s most dedicated
engineers, doctors, educators and willing leaders, we are inches away from
winning a major battle against learning disorders.”
RADAR uses eye tracking parameter measurements with high discriminative
power, as indicated by receiver operating characteristic:ROC curves and
obtained during silent text reading. These are combined to derive a total
reading score:TRS, that can reliably separate readers with Dyslexia from
typical readers. The deployment of ‘Defeat Dyslexia’ in Crete is an
opportunity for the researchers to refine the RADAR platform and to create
customised therapies as indicated by the results.
Dr Aslanides says that this is the first broad-based deployment of such a
tool and the only case, in which speech pathologists, social workers and
ophthalmologists work together to scrutinisze the screening effort.
Experts in the field estimate that about 15% to 20% of the world’s
population suffers from some form of Dyslexia or related reading disorders
but, most are never diagnosed. The implications for very early quantifiable
screening of children are tremendous.
Dyslexics have trouble identifying words, spelling, writing, reading aloud
and, even, solving mathematic problems. While it can not be cured, early
diagnosis and proper therapies will help students reach their full potential
outside the world of reading. The steps taken to screen all the children on
Crete will provide a model for creating a new diagnostic and customised
therapeutic process educators and health professionals can deploy safely and
efficiently in schools and health institutions.
About RADAR: RADAR, which is an acronym for ‘Rapid Assessment for Dyslexia
and Abnormalities in Reading’ is a ground-breaking screening system
developed by Dr Aslanides. It is a novel, fast, objective, non-invasive
method, which screens for features associated with the aberrant visual
scanning of reading text, seen in Dyslexia and related disorders. The
system, which relies on advanced algorithms, combined with a simple reading
test, is easy to implement at low cost, making it appropriate for
large-scale screening of children aged eight to 14 and it can, also, be
deployed for patients all over the world, regardless of their age.
About RADARMISSION Ltd https://emmetrolexia.gr/en: RADARMISSION Ltd is an
eye-tracking-based company, founded by Dr Ioannis Aslanides, MD, PhD,
F.R.C.Ophth, MBA, who is the Medical Director of Emmetropia Eye Institute,
one of the top eye-surgery centres in Greece. It specialises in applications
of eye tracking technology, with a focus on Dyslexia and reading
disabilities. It has pioneered eye tracking research in South Eastern Europe
and holds multiple patents for both eye tracking hardware and medical
software. As a leader in its field, it has conducted several research
studies and trials in the field of learning difficulties and Dyslexia over
the last 10 years. Its current research partners include, among others,
Harvard University, USA and Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. The company
routinely organises events in Europe, raising awareness for Dyslexia and
learning difficulties and promoting a more informed stance against these
disorders.:::ω.
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|
A Moonlight
Sonata for
the Dung
Beetles:
Navigate in
Wonder Under
the Full
Moon
|
 |
|| February 24: 2019: Lund University News || ά.
Of all
nocturnal animals, only, the dung beetles can hold their course, using
polarised moonlight. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now shown
that the beetles can use polarised light when its signal strength is weak,
which, may, allow them to find their bearings when artificial light from
cities swamp natural moonlight.
Moonlight
becomes polarised when it strikes particles in the upper atmosphere on its
journey to Earth. In this Study, the researchers show that the strength of
this polarised light-signal changes depending on the moon’s phase. Polarised
light from a quarter moon is only one-third as strong as at full moon and
just one-fifth as strong for a crescent moon. While poor resolution prevents
dung beetles from discriminating fine details, such as, trees, tents and
cars, they are remarkably sensitive, perceiving the polarised light in the
blue moonlit sky, that appears dark to human eyes.
“Our
investigation reveals that these beetles would be sufficiently sensitive to
orient themselves underneath a light-polluted city sky during full moon. But
they would be lost during a quarter or crescent moon.” says Mr James Foster,
Researcher at the Department of Biology at Lund University. “This is the
very first evidence that the polarisation of skylight changes over the lunar
cycle.”
Together
with colleagues in Lund, Germany, South Africa and the USA the researchers
tested just how dung beetles cope with this weak signal at night when using
polarisation as their compass to roll a dung ball in a straight line across
the African savannah. On clear nights, they perceive this polarised light in
a blue sky like the one we see on a sunny day but, thousands of times
darker.
In
experiments the researchers showed that the beetles are extremely sensitive
to polarised light. The dung beetles can cope with the weakest signals
detected by diurnal insects, even, when the polarised light is just
one-thousandth as bright. “They navigate just as well at night as bees do by
day; bees, also, use polarised light.”, says Professor Marie Dacke, at the
Department of Biology at Lund University.
The
different phases of the moon, full moon, quarter moon or crescent moon,
thus, affect how strongly-polarised the sky appears. Light pollution is,
also, a factor. Artificial light, such as, street lighting in and around
cities reduces the polarisation of the moonlit sky. Even so, the beetles
would be sensitive enough to hold their course, using this weaker
polarisation during full moon.
Besides
polarised light, dung beetles use colour and brightness patterns in the
night sky to get their bearings. The research team previously gained
attention in connection with their discovery that dung beetles use the Milky
Way as a compass reference, helping them to roll dung balls in a straight
line in the dark. However, more recent experiments have shown that on
moonlit nights polarisation is their most important compass reference.:::ω.
||
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Optoelctronics
at the
University
of
Southampton
and What It
Has Done for
the World
and World
Humanity |
 |
|| December 14:
2018: University
of Southampton
News || ά. The
University of
Southampton’s
pioneering
contribution to
optical fibre
technology, that
now enables the
internet to span
the world, has
been named as
one of the UK’s
100 best
breakthroughs
for its
significant
impact on
people’s
everyday lives.
While publishing
this news The
Humanion would
like to point
out this very
fact that the
very term
optoelectronics
had not existed,
not terribly
long ago and now
not only it has
come to exist
but become a
reality,
bringing out new
realities to
exist in
reality. This is
how the human
condition
advances or,
this how
visionaries
bring forth
ideas, that
shift paradigm,
that lift the
human condition
to higher
realms, where
things were
deemed
impossible once,
now they do
exist or,
rather, they
become possible.
One can not do
quantum physics
sticking their
head in
classical
mechanics; they,
must, first,
rise beyond it
to see the other
paradigm. One,
must, first,
refuse to ‘ant
around’ the
valley of the
Himalaya and
risk and rise
towards the
summit of this
mountain to see
what is out
there!
What is
saddening to see
is in today’s
world is the
fact that there
are a lot of
universities,
that are
abandoning their
purpose and
seeking to just
copy whatever
the market and
its
manipulations
put on their
plate without
questioning or
raising an
eye-brow.
Whoever is
giving some
money, they are
taking them
without any
question asked
and they are
wasting precious
human resources
in things, that
are utter
rubbish and
worst possible
waste while they
are seeking to
validate and
offer prestige
to these market
profiteers. It
is time
Universities
wake up and stop
doing that
because soon
this very
tendency will be
their
death-knell.
However, here is
our point. This
is how the human
condition
advances or is
taken forward.
And, visionaries
do this: take us
forward.
But the
difference
between
visionaries and
the rest is the
former is a kind
of their own
while the later
is an entity,
that follows the
lot thrown at
them. In this
field of
Optoelectronics
is the proof,
that
faint-hearted,
copy-catting or
sheep-shaping
will not do: it
requires vision
and the courage
to support and
believe in that
vision so that
one invests in
it one’s entire
being to foster
it, develop it,
nurture it and
take it forward
while there are
endless number
of cynics and
know it all, who
are screaming at
that one, mad
one, that this
was not going to
work: but they
all are, always
and forever,
wrong, it always
works; it shall
always work. The
ingenuity of
Southampton
Professor Sir
David Payne and
the University’s
world-leading
Optoelctronics
Research
Centre:ORC,
together,
honoured to join
the UK’s Best
Breakthroughs
list of the last
century. And,
rightly, so.
The list of
breakthroughs
demonstrates how
UK universities
are at the
forefront of
some of the
world’s most
important
discoveries,
innovations and
social
initiatives,
transforming
lives in the UK
and around the
world. Professor
Sir David Payne,
the Director of
the ORC, said,
“It is a
fantastic
achievement for
the ORC and the
University of
Southampton to
be featured in
the UK’s Best
Breakthrough
list. The list
provides an
excellent
opportunity for
the public to
better
understand the
true impact of
our research.
We’re extremely
proud of our
work and the
difference it
continues to
make to people
and communities
in Southampton,
the UK and
around the
globe.”
Fifty years ago,
the ORC received
global
recognition for
inventing one of
the world’s
first ultra-low
loss optical
fibres before
pioneering the
fibre amplifier,
that enabled the
internet to span
the world. This
inspired
innovation was
recognised by
the Queen’s
Anniversary
Prize for Higher
and Further
Education last
year.
Today, ORC
optical fibre
inventions
navigate
airliners, cut
steel and are
found on the
moon, Mars and
International
Space Station.
And, now,
through the
development of
hollow-core
fibres, the next
generation of
optical fibres,
the ORC is
bringing data
transmission
rates within
touching
distance of the
speed of light.
Professor Dame
Janet Beer,
President of
Universities UK,
said,
“Universities
really do
transform lives.
The technology
we use every
day, the
medicines, that
save lives, the
teachers, who
inspire, all
come from UK
universities and
the important
work being done
by academics.
The UK’s Best
Breakthroughs
list is a
testament to the
difference that
universities
make to people’s
lives and we
want everyone to
join us in
celebrating the
work they
do.”:::ω.
||
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New
Project Gets
Funding for
Vital
Research
Into Severe
Corneal
Infections
in Low and
Middle
Income
Countries
|
 |
|| August 11: 2018: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
News || ά. The London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine:LSHTM has been awarded more
than £03 million by the Wellcome Trust for new
research into severe corneal infections in low
and middle income countries:LMICs. The work will
be conducted by LSHTM’s International Centre for
Eye Health:ICEH, led by Professor Matthew
Burton. Over a five-year period, the funding
will allow an international partnership of eye
health experts in Uganda, Tanzania and Nepal to
carry out world-leading research to improve the
outcomes for people with corneal infections.
Corneal infections are a significant public health problem in LMICs,
with an estimated 04.4 million infections in
Asia and 01.2 million in Africa each year. The
disease, typically, affects people in adulthood
during their most productive years of life and
has major impacts on both quality of life and
economic productivity. If, not treated rapidly
or effectively, corneal infections can lead to
permanent loss of vision through scarring of the
cornea in the affected eye. In severe cases, the
cornea, may, rupture, which, often, means that
removing the eye is the only possible treatment.
Infections of the cornea, the clear window at
the front of the eye, are caused by either
bacteria, fungi, viruses or parasites.
In developed countries, such as, the UK, most corneal infections
are caused by bacteria, although, fungal
infections appear to be on the rise. In certain
LMICs, where the climate is hotter and more
humid, fungal infections are estimated to
account for over 60% of corneal infections.
Fungal corneal infections are harder to treat than bacterial
infections, with existing therapies, often,
being ineffective. In addition, anti-fungal eye
drops are, often, unavailable in many LMICs;
when they are available, they are, often, too
expensive for most people to afford. Accurately
recognising and differentiating the organism
responsible for these infections is, also, a
challenge.
To address the problems in diagnosing and treating corneal
infections, the team’s research will focus on
four main areas: Researching alternative,
cheaper, accessible and more effective
antifungal eye drops; Looking at how to reduce
the damaging effects infections have on the
cornea with eye drops, with a new anti-scarring
treatment; Implementing early interventions in
primary care to identify and treat infections
quickly and Developing reliable and simple tools
to aid diagnosis.
Professor Matthew Burton, of International Eye Health at LSHTM and
Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow, said, “I
am delighted that we have received this funding
from the Wellcome Trust, which will allow us to
carry out vital work in reducing the burden of
serious corneal infections.
These infections disproportionately affect people with the most
limited resources. By focusing on both improving
the diagnosis and the treatments available, we
hope to improve the outcomes of those affected
by corneal disease.”
Dr Simon Arunga, a PhD student at ICEH-LSHTM and an Ophthalmologist
based in Uganda, said, “This funding is a great
opportunity to build on our ongoing work in
exploring ways to reduce the burden of avoidable
blindness due to severe corneal infections.
I am excited to continue working with a group of like-minded
collaborators on this project that has potential
to impact the lives of many people affected by
corneal infections.’’
:::ω.
||
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|
New
International
Multi-Disciplinary
Research
Project to
Understand
How to
Better
Predict
Blindness in
Patients
with Age
Related
Macular
Degeneration |
 |
|| July 15: 2018: University of Southampton News || ά. A University of
Southampton eye specialist is leading research using advanced imaging to predict
which patients with early Age Related Macular Degeneration:AMD are at more risk
of blindness. Professor Andrew Lotery, of Ophthalmology in the University’s
Faculty of Medicine and Institute for Life Sciences, is leading an international
research team, which has received nearly £04 million funding from the Wellcome
Trust to explore what makes early AMD progress towards visual loss.
The innovative study brings together experts in ophthalmology, genetics,
statistics and computer science to collaborate on the project. AMD is a very
common cause of blindness with 200 million people expected to be affected by
2020, increasing to nearly 300 million by 2040. It is a complex, inherited and
diverse disease, that affects the macula, the central retina, that is
responsible for detailed central vision. Doctors currently don’t know who will
develop the sight-threatening stage of the disease; some patients progress
slowly or not at all, while others quickly deteriorate.
The five-year research project will programme computers to analyse high
resolution images of the inside of the eye to identify what eye changes appear
in patients with AMD and identify the structural changes, that lead to and are
associated with cell degeneration in the retina in patients with early AMD.
Professor Lotery, who is, also, a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Southampton
General Hospital’s eye unit, says, “Our research aims to pinpoint what makes AMD
progress towards visual loss and enable us to better predict which patients will
progress to the late stages of the disease. By understanding more about these
markers and why AMD develops, we will be able to better inform patients,
clinicians and researchers on prevention, screening, and individualised
treatment strategies.
Ultimately, it will help us make sure patients are in the right place, with some
in the community and those, who need specialised treatment in hospital and will,
also, help us manage capacity better.
We will be able to run clinical trials more effectively and, thus, allow faster
development of new treatments. We expect the research to give us new insights
into how the disease develops and new treatments will result from this.”
The project involves studying over 60,000 retinal images of patients, who have,
already, had their eyes scanned as part of the UK biobank. Results from this
analysis will be validated in 400 patients with early AMD, who will have their
eyes scanned every four months to detect the earliest focal sites of disease
progression. They will undergo advanced imaging of the major tissues;
neurosensory retina, retinal pigment epithelium and choriocapillaris to identify
the sequence of cell degeneration.
The study is being carried out in collaboration with established tertiary
referral centres for patients with retinal disease at the University Hospital
Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Moorfields Eye Hospital:MEH, Medical
University of Vienna and University Hospital Basel. It, also, involves computer
science and statistic experts at Imperial College, London and genetics experts
at the University of Michigan.
Principal Investigator Professor Lotery is renowned for his major contributions
to preventing blindness by finding and characterising genes, that are involved
in macular and photoreceptor degeneration and translating these genetic
discoveries through to the clinic.
The £3,980,169 funding will allow him and his co-investigators to create the
best multi-disciplinary team with a proven track record in AMD research,
providing expertise in advanced image analysis, genetics, computational and
trial statistics, Programmed Algorithmic Machination
and comprehensive visual function evaluation.
His co-investigators are Professor Sobha Sivaprasad, University College London,
Professor Toby Prevost and Professor Daniel Rueckert, Imperial College London,
Professor Henrik Scholl, University of Basel, Dr Lars Fritsche, University of
Michigan, Professor Ursula Schmidt-Ehrfurth and Dr Sebastian Waldstein, Medical
University of Vienna. :::ω.
||
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New Development in
Contact Lenses for
Red-Green Colour
Blindness Using
Simple Dye |
 |
|| May
01: 2018: University of
Birmingham News || ά.
Researchers at the
University of Birmingham
have developed a contact
lens, that, may, help people
with colour blindness simply
by using a low cost dye,
according to research
published on April 26 in the
journal Advanced Healthcare
Materials. Colour blindness
or colour vision
deficiency:CVD is an
inherited genetic ocular
disorder, in which some
people have difficulty
distinguishing certain
colours. While no cure for
this disorder exists,
several methods have been
used to increase the colour
perception of those
affected. However, current
products on the market, such
as, colour filtering glasses
are expensive, bulky and
incompatible with other
vision corrective glasses.
Normal colour vision is
trichromatic, which means
any colour can be created by
combining the colours blue,
red and green, which are
perceived by a cluster of
cones at the back of the
eye. These cones are divided
into three groups,
responsible for short
wavelengths: blue; medium
wavelengths: green and long
wavelengths: red. In normal
vision all three are
present. When any of these
cones are missing, the brain
receives incorrect
information leading to
limited ability to identify
certain colours in some
people. Several companies
are, already, selling
glasses and custom made
lenses for colour blindness
correction, which can be
expensive for many users,
however, in this research an
inexpensive soft commercial
contact lens was dyed with a
non-toxic rhodamine
derivative dye.
This
particular derivative of
rhodamine was chosen as it
is known for its ability to
absorb certain wavelengths
of light in the optical
spectrum. Researchers found
that the dye blocked the
band, that lies between the
red and green wavelengths,
which is perceived by two
sets of corresponding
optical cones
simultaneously. The removal
of this band through the
dyed lens inhibited the
simultaneous triggering of
the cones designated for
green and red wavelength
bands, enabling better
differentiation between red
and green colours.
The dyed lens was tested on
people with red-green colour
vision deficiency, the most
common form of CVD. The dyed
contact lens was applied to
a glass slide. The
participants were asked to
look at several numbers
through the dyed lens and to
note whether there were any
improvements to the colours
or the clarity of the
number. They were, also,
asked to observe their
surroundings and note
whether they saw any
improvements in their colour
perception.
The results verified that
dye tinted lenses can be
used to enhance the colour
perception of people
affected by colour vision
deficiency. Further patient
studies are now underway.
Dr Haider Butt, Lead
Researcher from the
University of Birmingham’s
Department of Mechanical
Engineering and the
Institute of Healthcare
Technologies said, ''Contact
lenses are of interest for
colour blindness correction
because it is easier to
correct the entire field of
view. The dye processing we
carried out does not need
any complex preparation, it
is not toxic to the human
eye and our method could be
easily used in both glasses
and contact lenses at low
cost.
We are now looking into
using a similar process to
correct purple-blue colour
blindness and, also, to
bring together a number of
dyes to make lenses perform
for both red-green and
purple-blue colour blindness
simultaneously. We are about
to commence human clinical
trials shortly.’
::: ω.
||
Readmore || ‽:
020518 ||
Up
||
|| April 06: 2018 || ά. The
Humanion was first published on
September 24, 2015 and has been
run, since that day, on a
complete voluntary basis without
any 'formal' or 'constituted'
manner or form and, it was run
on as a Human Enterprise, which
is an idea of Humanics, in
which, ownership is replaced by
belongingship and, thus, in a
Humanical Society, no one owns
anything but everyone belongs to
the whole as the whole belongs
to everyone lawfully and equally
and, it neither believes in nor
makes money but human utilities,
needs, aspirations, creativity,
imagination and dreams are
served without money, where
everyone works and creates for
all others as all others create
and work for all others, thus,
bringing in meaning and purpose
to life along with it come
natural justice, equality and
liberty, that establish a true
civilisation within the Rule of
Law. And in one word, this
system of human affairs
management is called, Humanics
and a society that runs itself
in humanics is called a
humanical society. Today, we
have begun the process of
'constituting' this Human
Enterprise, which does not exist
in the current system, but the
next closest thing to it, that
exists in the UK Law is Social
Enterprise. Therefore, today,
Friday, April 06, 2018, we are
beginning Regine Humanics
Foundation, that is the
'Agency', that will lead, run,
manage and develop everything,
that The Humanion has been
trying to do.
Regine
Humanics Foundation is
established by the Thinker,
Author, Poet, Novelist,
Playwright, Editor of The
Humanion, Festival Director of
London Poetry Festival and a
Humanicsxian: hu: maa: neek:
tian: One, that believes in,
lives and exists by Humanics, Mr
Munayem Mayenin, of London,
England, United Kingdom. Mr
Mayenin says, ''Humanics is a
vision; people, may, call it,
utopia, we, call it our
Humanicsovicsopia; Humanics.
Humanics is our philosophy, our
faith, our conviction, our
resolution, our way of existing,
thinking, being and doing: to
seek and try to do so in the
determination that all we must
do and be is to exist to advance
the human condition.
People, readers and agencies and
organisations, from all across
England, Scotland, Northern
Ireland, Wales and the whole of
the United Kingdom and
Australasia, Africa, Asia,
Europe, North and South America,
from all walks and strata of
life, have supported our
endeavours, supported The
Humanion and The Humanion Team,
who volunteered their time to
run things, since the beginning
of The Humanion and long before
that, when other things, that
are now part of The Foundation,
were developing. Nothing has
changed in terms of the nature
and value of what we have been
seeking to do.''
''But the founding of The
Foundation brings it all in a
solid foundation so that we can
keep on building this 'vision'
so that it keeps on going
regardless of who come to take
the vision-mission of The
Foundation forward. The
Foundation runs along with time
and along with the flowing
humanity. This is the dream,
this is the vision, this the
hope in founding this
Foundation. And, in this, we
hope and invite all our readers,
supporters, well wishers and all
agencies and organisations to
support our endeavours to build
something, a Human Enterprise,
which we are in the process of
registering as a Social
Enterprise, as a Community
Interest Company, working for
the common good of the one and
common humanity. No one makes or
takes profit out of The
Foundation, which now runs The
Humanion and everything else,
that is part of it. The
Foundation, once registered,
will have an Asset Lock, which
means that in any event, should
The Foundation dissolve itself,
all its existing assets shall go
to a similar Social Enterprise.
Therefore, we invite everyone to
support The Foundation, support
The Humanion in whatever way
they can. And, there are endless
number of ways people and
organisations can support The
Foundation and The Humanion.''
::: ω.
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Micro-Environment of Diabetic Retinopathy Supports Lymphatic
Neo-Vascularisation |
|
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