Snowfall on Mars - NASA Announces Startling Discovery
by Phoenix Mars Lander Project
According to news released on Monday, 29 September, NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snow falling from Martian clouds. Spacecraft soil tests experiments also have provided evidence of past interaction between minerals and liquid water, processes that occur on Earth.
A laser instrument designed to gather knowledge of how the atmosphere and surface interact on Mars, detected snow from clouds about 2.5 miles above the spacecraft's landing site. Data show the snow vaporizing before reaching the ground.
"Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," said Jim Whiteway, of York University, Toronto, lead scientist for the Canadian-supplied Meteorological Station on Phoenix. "We'll be looking for signs that the snow may even reach the ground."
Phoenix experiments also yielded clues pointing to calcium carbonate, the main composition of chalk, and particles that could be clay. Most carbonates and clays on Earth form only in the presence of liquid water.
"We are still collecting data and have lots of analysis ahead, but we are making good progress on the big questions we set out for ourselves," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson.
Since landing on May 25, Phoenix already has confirmed that a hard subsurface layer at its far-northern site contains water-ice. Determining whether that ice ever thaws would help answer whether the environment there has been favorable for life, a key aim of the mission.
"We have found carbonate," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the TEGA. "This points toward episodes of interaction with water in the past."
The Phoenix mission, originally planned for three months on Mars, now is in its fifth month. However, it faces a decline in solar energy that is expected to curtail and then end the lander's activities before the end of the year. Before power ceases, the Phoenix team will attempt to activate a microphone on the lander to possibly capture sounds on Mars.
"For nearly three months after landing, the sun never went below the horizon at our landing site." said Barry Goldstein, JPL Phoenix project manager. "Now it is gone for more than four hours each night, and the output from our solar panels is dropping each week. Before the end of October, there won't be enough energy to keep using the robotic arm."
(Photo: Barry Goldstein and Peter Smith)
The Phoenix mission is led by Smith at the University of Arizona. Project management is the responsibility of JPL with development partnership by Lockheed Martin in Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. For more about Phoenix, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix
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A $2.6 Billion LNG Project Completed ahead of Schedule
in Western Australia
Foster Wheeler Ltd. has announced that the first onshore LNG processing train (Train 5) in the world to be designed and constructed in modular form is now fully operational and producing LNG for export. First LNG production was achieved ahead of Woodside's target. The processing train was delivered by the Foster Wheeler-led joint venture at Karratha, Western Australia for Woodside Energy Ltd.(Operator) on behalf of the North West Shelf Venture (NWSV).
The Foster Wheeler-WorleyParsons joint venture was responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction phase of the A$2.6 billion NWSV Phase V LNG expansion. The project involved the construction of a fifth LNG processing train with a production capacity of 4.4 million metric tonnes per year, a jetty extension and second LNG loading berth, two additional power generation units, a third fractionation unit, a new fuel gas compressor, an acid gas removal unit and a third boil-off gas compressor.
"Foster Wheeler is proud to have again been instrumental in successfully delivering an LNG plant," said Michael J Beaumont, chairman and chief executive officer, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited. "We brought our proven experience in project management, engineering and construction of complex, world-scale projects, and we have applied our specialist skills in modular design and construction to deliver a safe, successful and high-quality facility for the North West Shelf Venture participants. We are currently applying the same innovative modular design concepts and execution philosophy for the Pluto LNG plant for Woodside."
"Train 5 has been safely and successfully completed on time and at a highly competitive cost in an environment of extremely constrained resources. This remarkable achievement is testament to the focus and commitment of the project team in delivering this additional production infrastructure," said Eve Howell, Executive Vice President North West Shelf, Woodside Energy Ltd.
The six equal participants in the North West Shelf Project are BHP Billiton Petroleum (North West Shelf) Pty Ltd, BP Developments Australia Pty Ltd, Chevron Australian Pty Ltd, Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd, Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd and operator Woodside Energy Ltd. The China National Offshore Oil Corporation is also part of the North West Shelf Venture but does not have an interest in its infrastructure.
Foster Wheeler Ltd. is a global engineering and construction contractor and power equipment supplier delivering technically advanced, reliable facilities and equipment. The company employs over 14,000 professionals worldwide through two primary business groups, a Global Engineering & Construction (E&C) Group and a Global Power Group. The company is based in Hamilton, Bermuda, with operational headquarters in Clinton, New Jersey, USA. For more information visit www.fwc.com.
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New Crew Heads for International Space Station
with Another Space Tourist + Sons of Former Astronaut
and Cosmonaut to Meet in Space
A new crew to live and work aboard the International Space Station rocketed into orbit on Sunday, 12 October 2008, aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. U.S. astronaut E. Michael Fincke, Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov and Richard Garriott, a U.S. computer game developer, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2:01 a.m. CDT.
Fincke, the only American to launch twice on a Soyuz, will serve as commander of the six-month Expedition 18 mission. The mission's main focus will be preparing the station to house six crew members on long-duration missions. The Expedition 18 crew is scheduled to arrive at the station Tuesday, with docking to the Zarya module scheduled for 3:33 a.m.
Expedition 17 Commander Sergey Volkov and spaceflight participant Garriott will become the first children of previous space fliers to greet each other in orbit. Garriott is the son of former NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, who was a member of the Skylab-3 crew in 1973. Volkov is the son of veteran cosmonaut Alexander Volkov, who flew three Soyuz missions.
Space tourist Garriott will spend nine days on the station under a ommercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. He will return to Earth on Oct. 23 with Volkov and Expedition 17 Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko, who have worked aboard the station since April 10.
Photo: Garriott, Lonchakov & Fincke at Cosmonaut Hotel in Kazakhstan on 1 October 2008. Photo courtesy of NASA
For more information about the space station and how to view it from Earth, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station.
Source: NASA news release on 12 October 2008
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Ethiopia-Djibouti Power Interconnections Project
Receives Funding Approval
Reported by Getachew Teklemariam Alem in Addis Ababa
On Wednesday, 8 October 2008 in Tunis, Tunisia, the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessionary window of the AfDB Group, approved a combined loan and grant for the equivalent to US$ 32.57 million to fund the Ethiopia-Djibouti Power Interconnections Project.
Under the approvals, Ethiopia will receive UA 5.20 million (US$ 8.3) while Djibouti gets UA 15.72 (US$ 24.48 million) to finance the project, which aims at improving electricity access at affordable prices in the two countries. It is also expected to result in jobs creation and poverty reduction through the provision of modern, affordable energy services.
In 2002, Ethiopia and Djibouti signed an agreement to implement the power interconnection project in order to develop available energy resources for their mutual benefit. The AfDB Bank Group in 2004 approved a combined US$ 56 million from its multilateral window to finance the project.
Major components of the current completion project include the development of a power transmission network (construction of transmission lines and substations); the electrification of border towns; project supervision and management; as well as institutional support to the Djibouti Electricity Company (EdD) and the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO).
One of the first of its kind in the Horn of Africa, the project is expected to improve the power trade within the region. When completed, it will be a component of the Eastern Africa Power Pool that is currently under development.
The project’s economic internal rate of return is estimated at 29% based on the revenues generated by exports and the electrification of border towns, the establishment of new business enterprises induced by the availability of electricity in the area, cost savings from imported power and increased consumption as result of reduced price of electricity power tariff in Djibouti.
The total cost of the project is estimated at UA 73.79 million. The ADF will finance 95.26% of the foreign exchange cost (UA 57.89 million) and 11.60% of local cost (i.e. UA 1.51 million) of the project. The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation EEPCO will finance 4.74% of the foreign cost (UA 2.88 million) and 73.35% of local costs (9.55 million). The Djibouti Electricity Company will finance 15.05% of the local costs of the project (UA 1.96 million).
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NASA Funds Projects to Study Life in the Universe
NASA has awarded five-year grants, averaging US$7 million each, to 10 research teams to study the origins, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.
The interdisciplinary teams will become new members of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, located at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California. Teams from the University of Hawaii; Arizona State University; the Carnegie Institution of Washington; Pennsylvania State University; the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta; and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, have been selected. Teams from Ames, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and two teams led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., also have been selected.
"The research of these new teams reflects the increasing maturity of astrobiology," said NASA Astrobiology Institute Director Carl Pilcher of Ames. "They are focused on fundamental questions of life in the universe, but their work has implications for all of science. The research of these teams, together with that of the four continuing institute teams, will bridge the basic science of astrobiology to NASA's current and planned space exploration missions."
The research projects will be focused on the following topics:
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Arizona State University will develop new, more refined criteria to guide the search for life by characterizing life's elemental requirements. This will be developed by a "follow the elements" strategy for investigating habitability in extraterrestrial environments.
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Carnegie Institution of Washington will conduct a wide range of research. They will focus on life's chemical and physical evolution, from the interstellar medium, through planetary systems, to the emergence and detection of life.
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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will conduct a multifaceted, highly integrated, program of interdisciplinary research on setting the stage for life. This will focus on the origins of relevant molecules and habitable environments, and on the processes by which chemical evolution leads to life.
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Pennsylvania State University will develop novel approaches to detecting and characterizing life. Investigations will include indicators or signatures of life in mission-relevant ecosystems and ancient rocks, and evaluating the potential for these signatures in extraterrestrial settings.
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The Georgia Institute of Technology will pursue the scientific goal of rewinding the tape of life to before the last universal common ancestor of all living organisms. This could shed light on the nature of protein synthesis by the earliest living systems.
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Ames will conduct a program of integrative, mission-enabling research to investigate the creation and distribution of early habitable environments in emerging planetary systems.
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Goddard will evaluate the possible role of organic material from space in the origin of life on Earth, and advance understanding of organics on other worlds.
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The first of two JPL teams will be devoted to an interdisciplinary investigation of chemistry on Saturn's moon Titan. The team will focus on Titan's physical environment to provide a basis for understanding the chemistry of early Earth, which was the precursor for life.
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The second JPL team will investigate the habitability of icy worlds, such as Titan, and Saturn moons Europa and Enceladus. They also will investigate how life could be detected in such environments and begin to define related instrumentation for future missions.
"The new teams provide a superb foundation for the institute as it enters its second decade," said Jim Green, (pictured at left) Planetary Science Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "They bring together the many disciplines necessary for a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to studying life in the universe."
The new members join four continuing teams led by Montana State University in Bozeman, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, the University of Washington in Seattle, and the University of Wisconsin in Madison. For more information about the NASA Astrobiology Institute, its new teams, and NASA's astrobiology program, visit: http://astrobiology.nasa.gov.
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India's Moon Mission off to a Great Start!
Reported by Raju Rao in Chennai
After days of excitement , the historic moon misssion in India got going with a smooth launch.
Chandrayaan-I, India's first unmanned moon mission satellite vehicle, successfully blasted off at 6.22 am on October 22, 2008, from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, some 80 km from Chennai,catapulting the country into the select club that have sent missions to the moon, after the US, former Soviet Union, European Space Agency, China and Japan.
Chandrayaan will orbit the moon for two years. It carries 11 experimental payloads, five Indian and six from the European Space Agency (3), the US (2) and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1).
(photo: Before Lift off)
The project is expected to prepare a three-dimensional atlas of the moon and prospect its surface for natural resources, including uranium, a coveted fuel for nuclear power plants, according to the Indian Space Research Organization.
But it will take several days – about 2 weeks before it covers the 4 lakh kilometers to reach its destination. The satellite will be captured by moon's gravity and initially it will revolve nearly a thousand kilometers from the moon's surface. But finally it will move closer to nearly 100 kilometers literally over the moon. Once that's done, it will spend the next two years mapping the moon's surface and sending data to India.
(photo at right: At the control center)
And among the first things it does will be to plant India's national flag on the moon.
Then as part of its many other challenging objectives, the multi-continent mission will begin the most intense search ever undertaken for life giving water on the moon.
(photo: Chandrayaan–1)
Source :Sify News,ND TV,Times Now,ISRO
Marriott Hotels and other Enterprises Donate Money
to Environmental Project in the Amazon
Reported by Peter Mello in Brazil
At Juma Amazon Federal Reserve in a remote area of the Amazon a group of environmentalists will receive money from a Brazilian bank and several private held businesses (Marriott is one of them).
The goal is to develop a project to protect trees from degradation and contribute to the fight against global warming.
The work is similar to other efforts related to carbon compensation but aims to protect endangered natural areas and not just planting new trees that cannot sustain the natural habitats of the area with its outstanding life variety of animals and plants.
So far, the project has gotten over 10 million of dollars having the Amazon State Government, The Brazilian Bank "Bradesco" and Marriott Hotels as the largest donors.
More information can be found at:
News:
http://oglobo.globo.com/pais/mat/2008/10/17/brasil_testa_esquema_de
_reducao_de_carbono_na_amazonia-585992103.asp
Picture :
http://www.adwbrasil.com.br/images/f_amazonas.jpg
Expedition 17 crew returns safely from International Space Station
Space tourist Richard Garriott and two members of the 17th crew to live and work aboard the International Space Station returned to Earth at 10:37 p.m. CDT, Thursday, 23 October 2008. Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononeko landed their Soyuz spacecraft at its targeted site in the steppes of Kazakhstan after completing 199 days in orbit and 197 days on the station.
Mr. Garriott spent 10 days on the station under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. He is the son of former NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, who was a member of the Skylab-3 crew in 1973.
(photo: Sergei Volkov, Expedition 17 commander, relaxing outside the Soyuz TMA-12 capsule after landing in
Kazakhstan. Image credit: NASA TV)
The Expedition 17 crew members undocked their Soyuz from the station at 7:16 p.m. The de-orbit burn to slow the Soyuz and begin its descent toward Earth began at 9:45 p.m. Before undocking, the returning crew bid farewell to the new station residents. The new crew consists of Expedition 18 Commander and U.S. astronaut E. Michael Fincke, and Expedition 18 Flight Engineers Greg Chamitoff and Yury Lonchakov, a Russian cosmonaut.
Expedition 18's main focus is to prepare the station to house six crew members on long-duration missions beginning spring 2009.
For more information about the space station and how to view it from Earth, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station .
Source: NASA news release, 23 October 2008.
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Energy From Waste Project Announced for Romania
Reported by Florin Gheorghiu in Bucharest
Energy Quest, Inc.,(EQI) a US-based firm in alternative energy and the development and production of hydrogen-enriched alternative fuels in an environmentally responsible manner, has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a joint venture to jointly own and construct a 500 tons per day of MSW (municipal solid waste) to 20 MW Power gasification plant in Romania with CO.F.A.M.M.(COFAMM) of Romentino, Italy.
Gasification is a chemical and heat (thermo chemical) process used to convert solid materials such as coal, biomass which includes MSW and any carbonaceous materials into a gas for use as a fuel.
"It's a fairly straightforward process, where solid fuel is converted into a gas and burned in a heat recovery boiler or heater like natural gas," explained Wilf Ouellette, President and CEO of Energy Quest, Inc. "The gas heats a fluid to a certain temperature and pressure until it turns into steam or a gaseous state, which is fed across a turbine or turbo expander that in turn rotates an electric generator."
The facility is expected to be environmentally friendly since it will be a near zero emitter in terms or air pollution and greenhouse gases. The total cost for the plant will be approximately $73 million Euro or $98 million USD. Terms and conditions will be stated in the definitive agreement with a deposit commitment of 20% and financing in place for the total project.
The company will provide proprietary technologies, equipment and project management for the complete gasification plant, while COFAMM will provide solutions for waste sorting, which provides the refuse-derived fuel (RDF) feedstock for the gasification plant. RDF is a solid fuel produced by preparing and shredding solid municipal waste. Non-combustible materials such as glass and metals are removed prior to making it.
The waste sorting line will recover steel and non ferrous materials, paper and cardboard, aluminum and steel cans, plastic film and RDF that can be used as fuel to generate the energy the system requires. The facility will generate clean electricity and will be a zero waste facility, since recovered steel and glass will be sent to recycling facilities.
COFAMM manufactures and constructs machines for separation of all components of household garbage. EQI and COFAMM have designed a system consisting of four modular units of gasification and 6 MW power enabling the gasification of MSW for the profitable production of alternative green energy. The main general contractor for the project has not been selected, but Mr. Ouellette said he has a few reputable firms in mind.
The equity of the proposed plant is expected to be $98 million USD and is expected to be completed within 12 months from the signing of the joint venture agreement. Immediate cash flows with gross annual revenues of $26.6 million are expected, while yielding a net profit of $11.1 million after taxes and debt payment.
"We look forward to getting this project underway and plan on other mutually beneficial opportunities with COFAMM. This project will be the first EQI installation of its gasification to power systems with COFAMM," stated Mr. Ouellette.
COFAMM is a company in northern Italy that manufactures machines for the material recycling industry. It constructs machines for separating all components from municipal waste "garbage." COFAMM manufactures complete systems for household garbage sorting from municipal waste, including: 1) steel and non ferrous materials, 2) paper and cardboard, 3) aluminum and steel cans, 4) plastic film, HDPE and PET bottles separated by color and, at the end of sorting conveyor, 4) RDF that can be used as fuel to generate the energy the system requires. For more information about COFAMM visit their web-site http://www.cofamm.it/
Energy Quest is a diversified energy company with interests in both conventional and renewable energy. Its mission is to bring new technologies to bear to enhance existing energy production as well as developing new energy sources. The immediate objective of the company is to secure energy projects using the PyStR and M2 gasifier and the acquisition of existing, profitable Alternate Energy companies. Energy Quest through its subsidiaries, Syngas International Corp. and Syngas Energy Corp., is an emerging leader in the development and marketing of low-cost alternate fuels worldwide. Energy Quest's technology is based on clean renewable energy. Web-site http://www.nrgqst.com/
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Boston's Big Dig Project featured
on Jim Lehrer's NewsHour in USA
The Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Project, dubbed the "Big Dig" by Bostonians, was a featured story on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on 24 October. In the final segment of a series investigating the health of the nation's infrastructure, Ray Suarez of the NewsHour reports on this project -- the most expensive single highway project in the U.S. that has cost more than $14.6 billion. The Ray Suarez segment can be seen online at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/transportation/july-dec08/bigdig_10-24.html.
The Bid Dig is the largest and most complex urban transportation project ever undertaken in the United States. The project is the result of more than 30 years of planning and 12 years of construction to replace the elevated section of Interstate 93 Central Artery through downtown Boston with a much wider underground highway and to extend the Interstate 90 turnpike to Logan Airport via a third harbor tunnel. Among the only other transportation projects on this large a scale were the Panama Canal and the Channel Tunnel.
The project comprises 161 lane-miles of interstate highway--over half of it underground. Its host of civil engineering firsts include the world's widest cable-stayed bridge, the deepest underwater connection in North America, state-of-the-art freeway segments built only inches above 19th century public transit railways, and an unprecedented ground-freezing program to stabilize Boston's historic soils during construction. The project has been widely recognized through dozens of awards for engineering excellence and aesthetics. For additional background information on the project, visit http://www.bechtel.com/boston_central_artery.html.
Land Speed Project to Capture the Imagination
Reported by Miles Shepherd in the UK
Lord Drayson, Minister of State for Science and Innovation, launched The BLOODHOUND Project, a three-year mission lead by Richard Noble OBE to create a land speed record car capable of achieving 1,000mph. Noble led the Thrust SSC project which captured the Land Speed Record when Andy Green drove the jet cart to 763 mph at Black Rock desert in Navada.
The new project, called Bloodhound SSC, is aimed not just at breaking the record which has stood since 1997. One of the primary aims is to inspire future generations to take up careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by showcasing these subjects in the most exciting way possible. This supports the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) new three year cinema and television campaign due to be launched in November which will demonstrate the breadth and variety of careers open to science and maths students.
Drayson,(pictured left, courtesy AmericanLeMans) a well known motor sports enthusiast and participant, said the project would result in tangible scientific developments that will benefit all, for example in areas such as fuel efficiency and safety and which could be used in the cars we drive in the future.
The project is a collaboration between university and industrial partners. An aerodynamics team at Swansea University, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, will lead the modelling side of the project. Meanwhile, the University of the West of England will lead the engineering side and produce the first scale model of the car. The actual Bloodhound SSC car will be constructed at a specially designed visitors centre at the university. The project is expected to run for three years.
BLOODHOUND SSC (super sonic car) will be driven by Wing Commander Andy Green who set the current record of 763mph (1228kmh) at the controls of ThrustSSC on 15th October 1997. If the new vehicle achieves its target of 1,000mph (Mach 1.4) it will mark the greatest incremental increase in the history of the World Land Speed Record; it will also exceed the low altitude speed record for aircraft (c.994mph).
However, it is known that a number of other teams are also planning an assault on Thrust SSC's mark. "There are three cars out there right now with varying degrees of credibility and at various stages of advancement," said Green.
The 12.8m-long, 6.4-tonne Bloodhound will be expected to travel faster than a bullet fired from a handgun. Its 900mm-diameter wheels will spin so fast they will have to be made from a high-grade titanium to prevent them from flying apart. The car will accelerate from 0-1,050mph (1,690km/h) in just 40 seconds; and at its maximum velocity, the pressure of air bearing down on its carbon fibre and titanium bodywork will exceed 12 tonnes per square metre.
The BLOODHOUND Project is a private venture. Government is part funding the three year education programme but not the build and running costs of the car. These costs will be covered by sponsorships. Founder sponsors include Swansea University, STP, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Serco and the University of The West of England.
The plan is to complete the car during 2009 and achieve the 1,000 mph record by 2011.
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