1.Computational pathology in precision oncology: Evolution from task-specific models to foundation models.
Yuhao WANG ; Yunjie GU ; Xueyuan ZHANG ; Baizhi WANG ; Rundong WANG ; Xiaolong LI ; Yudong LIU ; Fengmei QU ; Fei REN ; Rui YAN ; S Kevin ZHOU
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(22):2868-2878
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, computational pathology has been seamlessly integrated into the entire clinical workflow, which encompasses diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and biomarker discovery. This integration has significantly enhanced clinical accuracy and efficiency while reducing the workload for clinicians. Traditionally, research in this field has depended on the collection and labeling of large datasets for specific tasks, followed by the development of task-specific computational pathology models. However, this approach is labor intensive and does not scale efficiently for open-set identification or rare diseases. Given the diversity of clinical tasks, training individual models from scratch to address the whole spectrum of clinical tasks in the pathology workflow is impractical, which highlights the urgent need to transition from task-specific models to foundation models (FMs). In recent years, pathological FMs have proliferated. These FMs can be classified into three categories, namely, pathology image FMs, pathology image-text FMs, and pathology image-gene FMs, each of which results in distinct functionalities and application scenarios. This review provides an overview of the latest research advancements in pathological FMs, with a particular emphasis on their applications in oncology. The key challenges and opportunities presented by pathological FMs in precision oncology are also explored.
Humans
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Precision Medicine/methods*
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Medical Oncology/methods*
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Artificial Intelligence
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Neoplasms/pathology*
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Computational Biology/methods*
2.Advances in the role of protein post-translational modifications in circadian rhythm regulation.
Zi-Di ZHAO ; Qi-Miao HU ; Zi-Yi YANG ; Peng-Cheng SUN ; Bo-Wen JING ; Rong-Xi MAN ; Yuan XU ; Ru-Yu YAN ; Si-Yao QU ; Jian-Fei PEI
Acta Physiologica Sinica 2025;77(4):605-626
The circadian clock plays a critical role in regulating various physiological processes, including gene expression, metabolic regulation, immune response, and the sleep-wake cycle in living organisms. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are crucial regulatory mechanisms to maintain the precise oscillation of the circadian clock. By modulating the stability, activity, cell localization and protein-protein interactions of core clock proteins, PTMs enable these proteins to respond dynamically to environmental and intracellular changes, thereby sustaining the periodic oscillations of the circadian clock. Different types of PTMs exert their effects through distincting molecular mechanisms, collectively ensuring the proper function of the circadian system. This review systematically summarized several major types of PTMs, including phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, SUMOylation and oxidative modification, and overviewed their roles in regulating the core clock proteins and the associated pathways, with the goals of providing a theoretical foundation for the deeper understanding of clock mechanisms and the treatment of diseases associated with circadian disruption.
Protein Processing, Post-Translational/physiology*
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Circadian Rhythm/physiology*
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Humans
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Animals
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CLOCK Proteins/physiology*
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Circadian Clocks/physiology*
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Phosphorylation
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Acetylation
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Ubiquitination
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Sumoylation
3.Research progress in pharmacological effects of puerarin.
Xiao-Wei MENG ; Feng-Mei GUO ; Qian-Qian WANG ; Jia-Rong LI ; Ni ZHANG ; Fei QU ; Rong-Hua LIU ; Wei-Feng ZHU
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(11):2954-2968
Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), a treasure of the Chinese nation, contains abundant chemical components and demonstrates unique pharmacological activities, showing important values in clinical applications. With profound connotations and broad application prospects, TCM urgently needs us to further explore and conduct systematic research. Puerarin is a small-molecule natural isoflavonoid carbon glycoside extracted from plants of Pueraria. It is also the main active ingredient of Puerariae Lobata Radix, a Chinese herbal medicine with both medicinal and edible values. Puerarin has a variety of pharmacological effects such as blood pressure-lowering, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-ischemia-reperfusion injury, antithrombotic, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, liver-protecting, nerve cell-protecting, and intestinal microbiota-regulating effects. It is also an active ingredient that has been widely studied. This article comprehensively reviews the research progress in the pharmacological effects and molecular mechanisms of puerarin over the years, aiming to provide references and theoretical support for the in-depth research and development as well as clinical application of puerarin.
Isoflavones/chemistry*
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Humans
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Animals
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry*
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Pueraria/chemistry*
4.Clinical observation of free palmaris longus tendon graft reconstruction in treatment of gouty tophus erosion lesions in flexor tendon of wrist and hand.
Guozhong WANG ; Chao LU ; Zhigang QU ; Yuejuan ZHANG ; Benjun BI ; Fei GAO ; Zhao ZHANG ; Yuehai PAN ; Enxia ZHU ; Heng HUANG
Chinese Journal of Reparative and Reconstructive Surgery 2025;39(3):278-283
OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the effectiveness of free palmaris longus tendon graft reconstruction in the treatment of gouty tophus erosion lesions in flexor tendon of wrist and hand.
METHODS:
A retrospective analysis was conducted on 8 patients with gouty tophus erosion lesions in flexor tendon of wrist and hand who underwent free palmaris longus tendon graft reconstruction between June 2017 and December 2023. All patients were male, aged 22-65 years, with an average of 45.9 years. The duration of gout history ranged from 2 to 18 years, with an average of 8.8 years. The duration from the discovery of gouty tophus to operation ranged from 12 to 26 months, with an average of 17.6 months. The gouty tophus eroded the flexor pollicis longus tendon in 4 cases, with Verdan flexor tendon zones being Ⅰ-Ⅱ in 1 case and Ⅳ-Ⅴ in 3 cases. The flexor digitorum profundus tendons were affected in 2 cases for the index finger, 1 for the middle finger, and 1 for the ring finger, all located in zone Ⅳ-Ⅴ. The long axis of the gouty tophus ranged from 2.3 to 4.5 cm, with an average of 3.4 cm. All 8 patients presented with limited finger flexion and extension. Among them, 4 cases were accompanied by median nerve compression symptoms, and 1 case had associated bone and joint destruction in the hand. The total active motion (TAM) of the affected finger was (81.3±30.2)° before operation according to the hand function evaluation criteria for tendon repair by the Chinese Society of Hand Surgery of the Chinese Medical Association, and the functional evaluation was poor. The harvested palmaris longus tendon intraoperatively was 7-9 cm in length.
RESULTS:
Surgical incisions in all 8 patients healed by first intention, with no infections, graft non-union, or significant adhesion complications. All patients were followed up 8-25 months, with an average of 14.8 months. Numbness symptoms resolved in all 4 patients who presented with median nerve compression symptoms. Patients did not experience wrist pain or other discomfort, and function was not compromised. At last follow-up, according to the hand function evaluation criteria for tendon repair by the Chinese Society of Hand Surgery of the Chinese Medical Association, the TAM of 8 patients was (197.5±55.8)°, which significantly improved when compared with that before operation ( t=11.638, P<0.001); the hand function of 1 patient with gouty tophus in zone Ⅰ-Ⅱ flexor pollicis longus tendon was good, and the other 7 patients were excellent.
CONCLUSION
Free palmaris longus tendon graft reconstruction demonstrates good effectiveness in treating gouty tophus erosion lesions in flexor tendon of wrist and hand.
Humans
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Middle Aged
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Male
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Adult
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Tendons/surgery*
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Retrospective Studies
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Aged
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Gout/complications*
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Wrist/surgery*
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Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods*
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Hand/surgery*
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Treatment Outcome
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Young Adult
5.Multi-segment inverted Y-shaped vein transplantation using anterior lateral malleolar venous network for repair of amputated palm injury distal to superficial palmar arch.
Zhao ZHANG ; Yanyan WANG ; Fei GAO ; Yuehai PAN ; Heng HUANG ; Chao LU ; Guozhong WANG ; Zhigang QU ; Benjun BI
Chinese Journal of Reparative and Reconstructive Surgery 2025;39(5):628-632
OBJECTIVE:
To explore the effectiveness of multi-segment inverted Y-shaped vein transplantation using the anterior lateral malleolar venous network for repair of amputated palm injury distal to the superficial palmar arch.
METHODS:
Between September 2018 and July 2023, 5 patients with amputated palm injury distal to the superficial palmar arch were treated. There were 3 males and 2 females with an average age of 35.4 years (range, 29-52 years). The time from injury to admission was 1-6 hours (mean, 3.2 hours). The multi-segment inverted Y-shaped vein transplantation in the anterior lateral malleolar venous network were used to repair the common and proper palmar digital arteries; the another anterior lateral malleolar venous network was used to repair the dorsal vein of the hand. The soft tissue defect of dorsal hand in 1 patient was repaired with the pedicled ilioinguinal flap, and the wound at the donor site was directly sutured. Postoperative treatment included anti-infection therapy, antispasmodic therapy, and thrombosis prevention measures.
RESULTS:
The partial necrosis of the fingertip of the thumb occurred in 1 case, and the marginal necrosis of the abdominal flap after operation occurred in 1 case. The remaining fingers showed good blood supply with normal tension. The incision at donor site of the abdominal flap healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 8-41 months (median, 19 months). At last follow-up, the hand contour was satisfactory; the grasping function, opposition function, and proprioception recovered, and two-point discrimination ranged from 5 to 7 mm (mean, 6 mm). According to the upper extremity function evaluation criteria issued by Hand Surgery Society of the Chinese Medical Association, the functional outcomes were excellent in 3 cases, good in 1 case, and fair in 1 case.
CONCLUSION
The multi-segment inverted Y-shaped vein transplantation using the anterior lateral malleolar venous network for repairing defects in the common and proper palmar digital arteries distal to the superficial palmar arch offers advantages such as superficial location, flexible harvesting, and high compatibility. This technique has demonstrated favorable outcomes in complex transmetacarpal amputation reconstruction.
Humans
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Adult
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Male
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Female
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Hand Injuries/surgery*
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Middle Aged
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Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods*
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Veins/transplantation*
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Surgical Flaps/blood supply*
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Hand/surgery*
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Treatment Outcome
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Soft Tissue Injuries/surgery*
6.Real-world efficacy and safety of azvudine in hospitalized older patients with COVID-19 during the omicron wave in China: A retrospective cohort study.
Yuanchao ZHU ; Fei ZHAO ; Yubing ZHU ; Xingang LI ; Deshi DONG ; Bolin ZHU ; Jianchun LI ; Xin HU ; Zinan ZHAO ; Wenfeng XU ; Yang JV ; Dandan WANG ; Yingming ZHENG ; Yiwen DONG ; Lu LI ; Shilei YANG ; Zhiyuan TENG ; Ling LU ; Jingwei ZHU ; Linzhe DU ; Yunxin LIU ; Lechuan JIA ; Qiujv ZHANG ; Hui MA ; Ana ZHAO ; Hongliu JIANG ; Xin XU ; Jinli WANG ; Xuping QIAN ; Wei ZHANG ; Tingting ZHENG ; Chunxia YANG ; Xuguang CHEN ; Kun LIU ; Huanhuan JIANG ; Dongxiang QU ; Jia SONG ; Hua CHENG ; Wenfang SUN ; Hanqiu ZHAN ; Xiao LI ; Yafeng WANG ; Aixia WANG ; Li LIU ; Lihua YANG ; Nan ZHANG ; Shumin CHEN ; Jingjing MA ; Wei LIU ; Xiaoxiang DU ; Meiqin ZHENG ; Liyan WAN ; Guangqing DU ; Hangmei LIU ; Pengfei JIN
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(1):123-132
Debates persist regarding the efficacy and safety of azvudine, particularly its real-world outcomes. This study involved patients aged ≥60 years who were admitted to 25 hospitals in mainland China with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between December 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023. Efficacy outcomes were all-cause mortality during hospitalization, the proportion of patients discharged with recovery, time to nucleic acid-negative conversion (T NANC), time to symptom improvement (T SI), and time of hospital stay (T HS). Safety was also assessed. Among the 5884 participants identified, 1999 received azvudine, and 1999 matched controls were included after exclusion and propensity score matching. Azvudine recipients exhibited lower all-cause mortality compared with controls in the overall population (13.3% vs. 17.1%, RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67-0.90; P = 0.001) and in the severe subgroup (25.7% vs. 33.7%; RR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66-0.88; P < 0.001). A higher proportion of patients discharged with recovery, and a shorter T NANC were associated with azvudine recipients, especially in the severe subgroup. The incidence of adverse events in azvudine recipients was comparable to that in the control group (2.3% vs. 1.7%, P = 0.170). In conclusion, azvudine showed efficacy and safety in older patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the SARS-CoV-2 omicron wave in China.
7.Si-Wu-Tang attenuates liver fibrosis via regulating lncRNA H19-dependent pathways involving cytoskeleton remodeling and ECM deposition.
Jiaorong QU ; Xiaoyong XUE ; Zhixing WANG ; Zhi MA ; Kexin JIA ; Fanghong LI ; Yinhao ZHANG ; Ruiyu WU ; Fei ZHOU ; Piwen ZHAO ; Xiaojiaoyang LI
Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (English Ed.) 2024;22(1):31-46
Liver fibrosis is a dynamic wound-healing response characterized by the agglutination of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Si-Wu-Tang (SWT), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, is known for treating gynecological diseases and liver fibrosis. Our previous studies demonstrated that long non-coding RNA H19 (H19) was markedly upregulated in fibrotic livers while its deficiency markedly reversed fibrogenesis. However, the mechanisms by which SWT influences H19 remain unclear. Thus, we established a bile duct ligation (BDL)-induced liver fibrosis model to evaluate the hepatoprotective effects of SWT on various cells in the liver. Our results showed that SWT markedly improved ECM deposition and bile duct reactions in the liver. Notably, SWT relieved liver fibrosis by regulating the transcription of genes involved in the cytoskeleton remodeling, primarily in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), and influencing cytoskeleton-related angiogenesis and hepatocellular injury. This modulation collectively led to reduced ECM deposition. Through extensive bioinformatics analyses, we determined that H19 acted as a miRNA sponge and mainly inhibited miR-200, miR-211, and let7b, thereby regulating the above cellular regulatory pathways. Meanwhile, SWT reversed H19-related miRNAs and signaling pathways, diminishing ECM deposition and liver fibrosis. However, these protective effects of SWT were diminished with the overexpression of H19 in vivo. In conclusion, our study elucidates the underlying mechanisms of SWT from the perspective of H19-related signal networks and proposes a potential SWT-based therapeutic strategy for the treatment of liver fibrosis.
Humans
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RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics*
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Liver Cirrhosis/genetics*
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Liver/metabolism*
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Hepatic Stellate Cells/pathology*
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MicroRNAs/metabolism*
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Extracellular Matrix/metabolism*
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal
8.Analysis of Chemical Composition in Puerariae Thomsonii Stem Base and Investigation of Its Effect on Liver Metabolites in Mice Based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS
Lingbang MENG ; Huan YU ; Xiaoying WU ; Yijing GUO ; Fei QU ; Qianfeng GONG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(24):174-182
ObjectiveTo systematically compare the chemical compositional differences between Puerariae Thomsonii stem base(PTSB) and Puerariae Thomsonii Radix(PTR), and to explore the potential hepatoprotective effects of PTSB by liver metabolomics. MethodUltra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) was used to analyze the chemical compositions of PTSB and PTR. Twenty Kunming mice aged 6-8 weeks, half male and half female, were randomly divided into the blank group(sterile water) and PTSB group(1.95 g·kg-1), with 10 mice in each group, and the drug was administered by gavage for 14 d, and the body mass was weighed once a day. After the last administration, mice were anesthetized, organs such as heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys were collected, and the organ index was calculated. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to measure the levels of aspartate aminotransferase(AST), alanine aminotransferase(ALT), total cholesterol(TC) and triglyceride(TG) in the serum of mice from each group, the morphological changes of heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney tissues were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining, and the regulation of PTSB for the hepatic metabolic profiles of mice was analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS, then the differential metabolites between the blank group and PTSB group were designated, and the metabolic pathways was enriched by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG). ResultA total of 19 common chemical constituents were identified from PTSB and PTR, all of which were the main pharmacodynamic substances of PTR. The pharmacodynamic results showed that PTSB could control the growth of body mass of mice and reduce the contents of TC, TG, ALT and AST in serum of mice. HE staining observations and organ indexes showed that there was no significant effect of PTSB on all major organs at the highest clinically equivalent dose. A total of 38 differential metabolites were identified by metabolomics, of which 35 were up-regulated and 3 were down-regulated. These differential metabolites were mainly compounds such as amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, steroids, nucleosides, pyrimidines and alkaloids. Three key metabolic pathways, including tyrosine metabolism, vitamin B6 metabolism and tryptophan metabolism, were screened by metabolic pathway analysis. ConclusionPTSB has a similar chemical composition to that of PTR, and it may regulate the metabolism of amino acids and vitamins through the flavonoids and isoflavonoids, thus exerting a potential hepatoprotective effect. This study provides an experimental reference for the clinical application and product development of PTSB.
9.A Study on High-Quality Development of Public Hospitals Based on Bibliometric
Chinese Hospital Management 2024;44(2):36-39
Objective To analyze the current status of high-quality development research in public hospitals,sum-marize the connotation and paths,and provide a reference for promoting the high-quality development of public hos-pitals.Methods Using"public hospitals"and"high-quality development"as the title,keywords or themes,1802 articles were retrieved from CNKI and Wanfang databases from January 1,2018,to December 31,2022,for bibliometric analysis.Results The number of articles has increased year by year,published in 235 domestic journals.The authors'institutions are mainly located in the eastern part of China.Among the specific contents,there are the most articles on the"operation management system".In 2021,with the introduction of relevant policies,re-search on the connotation and paths of high-quality development in public hospitals has increased.Conclusion The re-search on high-quality development in public hospitals is growing rapidly,with rich connotations and gradually clear paths,but still faces many difficulties.
10.Application of Mitochondrial Targeting Strategy of Nano-delivery System in Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment
Jun QU ; Shuang YAN ; Long-Tian-Yang LEI ; Fei-Jun OUYANG ; Hai-Tao ZHANG ; Xu-Ping QIN
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2024;51(1):70-81
Tumor is one of the major diseases that endanger people’s health. At present, the treatments used for tumor include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and so on. Nonetheless, the traditional treatments have some disadvantages, such as insufficient treatment effect, liable to cause multidrug resistance, toxicity and side effect. Further research and exploration of tumor treatment schemes are still necessary. As the energy converter of cells, mitochondria are currently considered to be one of the most important targets for the design of new drugs for tumor, cardiovascular and neurological diseases. Nano-drug delivery carriers have the characteristics of being easily modified with active targeting groups, and it can achieve accurate targeted drug delivery to cells and organelles. This paper reviews the application of mitochondrial targeted nanoparticles in tumor diagnosis and treatment from the aspects of inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, promoting tumor cell apoptosis, inhibiting tumor recurrence and metastasis, and inducing cell autophagy.

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