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NASA turns to CloudSpotter app to create global ‘cloud atlas’

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CloudSpotter App. Credit: CloudSpotter. Originally published by the Guardian - NASA has enlisted the help of smartphone users around the world to monitor the effect of clouds on the Earth's climate. Information collected by users of the CloudSpotter app will be used by the space agency's scientists to calibrate its Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System instrument.

Global Hawks: Unmanned Aircraft in Hurricane Science

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NASA’s Global Hawks on the ramp at Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base. Credit: NASA/Tony Landis.

Our understanding of the formation and intensity of hurricanes is still evolving. Even after hurricanes have formed, it is difficult for scientists and meteorologists to predict the intensity of a storm when it makes landfall. Further investigation into the life processes of hurricanes will be essential to produce more reliable predictions of intensity when storms reach shore.

Hurricane science is usually limited by a several factors, and scientists who use instrumentation to study hurricanes must rely on a perfect storm of circumstances. Most essentially, the storm must be in the right place. If the scientist’s research station is land-based, the hurricane has to make landfall nearby. More commonly, the hurricane must be brewing within range of the scientist’s instrument-bearing aircraft, which usually only has the range to overfly the storm for a few hours at a time over the ocean. However, collaboration between NASA and Northrop Grumman has produced an aircraft that will make the study of hurricanes much easier.

Global Hawk is the name given to the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and it has proven its utility to hurricane scientists in the 2010 Genesis and Rapid Intensification Process (GRIP) mission. GRIP, a project coordinated to complement field experiments by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), employed two aircraft to collect hurricane data: the manned DC-8 and the unmanned Global Hawk. Because of the Global Hawk’s high-altitude capabilities and long flight time, scientists were able to collect data to create wind maps and study the evolution of the storm’s core.

The Global Hawk is well-suited to study hurricane science because of its high-altitude capabilities, long range, and long flight time. A typical hurricane tops out at around 55,000 feet, but a Global Hawk can exceed this altitude by almost 10,000 feet, enabling scientists to collect data from overhead. The aircraft can fly for about 26 hours at a time and has a range of 11,000 nautical miles, more than enough to reach the coast of Africa (where Atlantic hurricanes form) from the continental United States. The Global Hawk employs a satellite communication link to exchange information with ground control. Although the aircraft’s primary navigation is based on pre-programmed routes fed into its navigation system, scientists can request changes to the aircraft’s course based on real-time data about the storm from their instruments. This allows hurricane scientists to direct the plane to a more interesting section of the storm for data collection and can provide for increased safety, since pilots can avoid large thunderstorms within hurricanes that may pose a threat to the aircraft.

The Global Hawk can carry 1900 pounds of useful payload. For the GRIP mission, this included DropSondes (which collect vertical profiles of pressure, temperature, humidity, and winds), a Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) for the measurement of lightning and other electric fields, as well as two more complex instruments called HAMSR (High Altitude MMIC Sounding Radiometer) and HIWRAP (High Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler). HIWRAP Principal Investigator Gerry Heymsfield described the variety of instruments as “complementary,” since they all measure different parameters of the storm.

HAMSR is a microwave atmospheric sounder whose data is used to glean information about the warm core structure and precipitation structures of a storm. Developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), HAMSR was one of the first graduates of the Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) Instrument Incubator Program. It collects data by measuring thermal radiation from the atmosphere and the surface below it, yielding information on temperature, water vapor, and precipitation.

Figure 1: HIWRAP measurement concept. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

HIWRAP, also an ESTO-funded instrument, is a unique radar system used to measure wind within storms. HIWRAP sends microwave pulses into a storm and collects data on the backscattered energy and Doppler shift from clouds and precipitation in different ranges along the radar beam. These data are used to reconstruct the wind structure and determine the type, height, and amount of precipitation in a storm. HIWRAP uses a carefully planned scanning pattern to yield the best collection of information. The radar system transmits two beams simultaneously at different incidence angles, as illustrated in Figure 1.

The instrument rotates continuously, resulting in a conical scanning pattern. Conical-scan radar is a new addition to precipitation and cloud study—only used in the past to study wind patterns close to the ocean’s surface, rather than in the higher precipitation regions of a storm. Instruments on the Global Hawk are constrained by size and weight, so the scientists developing HIWRAP decided to use a smaller, lighter, solid-state transmitter rather than heavier, more bulky transmitters that are usually used in conventional weather radar.

The Global Hawk, HAMSR, and HIWRAP also are part of another NASA hurricane science mission, called the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel project, or HS3.  HS3 is an ongoing five-year mission to investigate the formative processes of hurricanes. HS3 seeks to collect data that will help scientists address the roles of the Saharan Air Layer and deep convection in the inner core in hurricane formation. The mission uses two Global Hawks with distinct payloads specialized for different types of data collection. One Global Hawk carries the “environmental payload,” with instruments geared toward collecting data on environmental factors that may contribute to the hurricane’s formation. The other Global Hawk carries an over-storm payload, and its instruments are key to investigating the inner core structure and processes. Both HIWRAP and HAMSR are part of the over-storm payload.

Heymsfield says the Global Hawk is revolutionary for hurricane science, citing the increase in flight times and its abilities compared to more traditional aircraft.

“[It] allows us to capture the development of the storm, whereas before, we maybe got a few snapshots of the storm … It really opens up a different way to look at any kind of phenomena.”

Heymsfield, who is involved with GRIP and HS3, predicts that aircraft with an endurance of up to five days will be ready within five years.

The data collected by Global Hawk from the GRIP and HS3 missions will help scientists further develop their models of hurricane intensification. As the volume of hurricane data grows, scientists will be able to better predict the strength and size of storms as they encounter the North American coastline. More accurate predictions mean better preparation and, surely, more lives saved.

Students Win U.S. EPA Grants for Environmental Solutions

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Originally Published by Environment News Service

WASHINGTON, DC, June 21, 2013 (ENS) – Better biodiesel, better household cleaners, building materials made with a 3D printer – these are a few of the innovations that have received this year’s People, Prosperity and the Planet Award for their solutions to some tough public health and environmental challenges, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday.

New Green Vision: Technology As Our Planet’s Last Best Hope

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Originally Published by Yale Environment 360

The concept of ecological modernism, which sees technology as the key to solving big environmental problems, is gaining adherents and getting a lot of buzz these days. While mainstream conservationists may be put off by some of the new movement’s tenets, they cannot afford to ignore the issues it is raising.
BY FRED PEARCE

Deep-space Stations Gain Made-in-Europe Hearing Boost

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Originally published by ESA - Picking up ultra-weak signals from spacecraft exploring deep in our Solar System requires cooling a detector to within a few degrees of absolute zero. Thanks to ESA’s support, the technology is now available in Europe for the first time.

Sonification: Data like you’ve never heard before

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The year is 2023. A young couple cruises down the highway in a car. The radio is tuned to piano music as they discuss a hiking trip planned for the next month. Suddenly, there’s an uptake in the tempo, and the couple exchange a knowing look.

Imagine, for a moment, that the sudden accelerando is not simply a musical device (though it functions quite nicely with the piece). Imagine that the quickening of notes is actually a subtle warning that a solar flare is inevitable, and those with sensitive electronics should take precautions.

This reality is not only possible—it’s in progress. Through a process called data sonification, researchers at the University of Michigan have collaborated with the Experiential Music Lab to create a prototype of such a scientifically based radio, available on YouTube.

This sample, based on stored rather than live-streamed data, uses characteristics of solar wind from the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) satellite to adjust the loudness, tempo, and dissonance of an algorithmically generated piano piece. Given the right information, anyone could interpret the status of the solar wind based on the music playing from their car radio.

Sonification—the process of turning scientific data into sound, including music—takes many forms. Though the idea may seem alien, the well-known Geiger counter relies on principles of sonification. The concept of a Geiger counter is simple—as levels of radiation increase, the rate of clicking increases. Sonification also is applied to more complex data sets, like earthquakes, solar radiation, and even simulated particle collisions. According to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center fellow Robert Alexander, some have even tried to apply sonfication to stock market trends. “People have experimented with sonifying the stock market, the idea being that if you can detect new patterns in the stock market you can potentially make a lot of money,” said Alexander in an interview with Earthzine. He admits that nobody has used sonification to correctly predict the stock market—yet.

Methods: audification and parameter mapping

So how does a huge digital file of data become a piece of sound or music that can yield useful information?

There are two commonly used methods for turning data into sound. The simpler one is audification: writing data directly to a sound file. This method is usually employed in cases where there is one data set with a huge number of points. For example, the earthquake and solar radiation sonifications mentioned above were made using audification.

Alexander, who specializes in data sonification for his doctoral studies at the University of Michigan, said that sonification can help especially in areas where a visual representation of the data would be overwhelming or difficult to interpret. “If you think about what’s happening underneath the hood, everything looks like squiggly lines—whether it’s a wave form from a satellite observation, a needle moving back and forth on a seismograph, or measurements of microvoltages on the scalp from an electroencephalograph,” Alexander said.

“Or Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird Suite,’” added Aaron Roberts , a heliophysicist who works in data sonification at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

An image of the sun.

A screenshot from a video by Robert Alexander of sonification of solar wind.

The other standard method is parameter mapping, in which different aspects of a data set are related to distinct musical effects. The solar wind radio, created by Fabio Morreale and the Experiential Music Lab in collaboration with researchers at the University of Michigan, is created through parameter mapping. In this example, bulk speed affects beats per minute, the proton density alters the volume, and the ion temperature changes the mode, consonance, and melody direction. “Lower ion temperatures result in music that is generally more dissonant, while higher temperatures result in more consonant and pleasant sonorities,” Alexander explained.

Alexander said the process for turning a data file into a useful sound file is similar to creating false-color images of celestial bodies. “We can transpose [the waves] into the range of human hearing, kind of like a false color image. We make an aesthetic decision about how to adjust the data so that we can appreciate what’s happening,” Alexander said.

Lily Asquith, a particle physicist at CERN, was one of the leads on the LHCSound project, in which scientists and musicians used simulated particle collision data to create music. The team used parameter mapping to create the musical pieces on their website. “We would have it where, for example, a louder sound is a larger object, or a higher frequency would mean something is moving more quickly,” said Asquith. “There are probably 20-40 parameters for a data set. We found that a certain 5 parameters were most useful, so we used those in the parameter mapping,” said Asquith.

Asquith, Alexander, Roberts, and their colleagues aren’t the only ones interested in sonifying data—the International Community for Auditory Display (ICAD) founded in 1992, has hosted 19 conferences in 11 different countries, all with the focus of exploring how data can be represented in sound . ICAD held its most recent conference July 6-10, 2013 in Lodz, Poland.

Sonification for analysis?

Data sonification is interesting, of course, but can it actually be useful to scientists? Asquith gives a conditional “no”—at least for her field.

“Particle physics data analysis is statistical, so sonification probably couldn’t yield any new insight,” said Asquith. “I’m more interested in sonification for outreach purposes.”

On the other hand, Roberts  ismore optimistic about the potential for sonification as an analysis tool. “I think of it in terms of data mining. You’ve got algorithms for data mining now that go in and calculate a whole bunch of statistics about this data set and look for patterns in those statistics, and you can do really well sometimes. (Sonification) is data mining with your ear. You’re trained for those patterns already because you‘ve spent a lifetime listening,  said Roberts in an interview with Earthzine.Alexander says that sonifying data may be a way to make use of some of the abundance of unused data available. “That’s the crux of the problem—there’s so much data,” Alexander said. “There are missions planned that will be an order of magnitude higher in terms of data collection.” Last year, the White House announced a Big Data initiative to foster the use and analysis of collected data, including funding for the EarthCube project.

Alexander has already had some success with sonification. Working with a research group at University of Michigan, Alexander noticed an oddity in an audified data set that turned researchers on to an important line of inquiry. “I sonified something like 15 different data parameters from ACE. I heard some harmonics that sounded particularly strong and potentially interesting, but the group wasn’t looking at that data.” Alexander asked the researchers what could be causing the harmonics, and the ensuing investigation led them to a new discovery.

One of the Roberts’ and Alexander’s goals is to determine exactly how quantitative auditory analysis can be. “Part of my research is to flesh out what the strengths of the ear are, quantitatively and qualitatively,” Alexander said. “I’ve conducted some initial studies in which we have people listen to solar wind data sets and then visually observe a spectrogram of the exact same data set. There’s a relatively high correlation between the assessments people make.”

What data will work?

Like Asquith, Roberts and Alexander also acknowledge the necessity to use data that has a structure conducive to sonification. “We’re trying to determine what types of data are best suited to auditory analysis,” Alexander said. “There are many aspects of the human auditory system that we need to consider—for instance, one sound can mask or block another. If you’ve ever tried to talk to someone at the side of a busy street you have a hard time trying to hold a conversation if a big truck goes by.”

Alexander said that the same concept applies to sonification of data, explaining that multiple sources in the same data set could overpower one another and impede analysis.“We don’t hear things at equal loudness at all frequencies. Above or below a certain frequency, we have to turn a sound up for it to seem like it’s at equal loudness, Alexander said.

One of the biggest challenges to successful use of sonification is providing context to the audio. “It’s just like if you were to open up the Astrophysical Journal to any random page, show it to someone on the street, and ask if they could learn anything from a random visual diagram. If they don’t understand what’s being represented, if they don’t understand what the colors mean, if they don’t understand the axes, they can’t extract any of the information presented there,” Alexander said.

Despite the challenges, Alexander and Roberts are hopeful that sonfication can be used to make scientific discoveries. “I don’t think we’ve fully exploited the potential,” Roberts said.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s easy enough to explain what you’re hearing, but that small fraction of the time where you hear something and it hasn’t been documented before, that’s really exciting,” Alexander said.

Japanese Vehicle Delivers New Hardware for NASA’s Robotic Refueling Mission

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Originally Published by NASA

Japanese Vehicle Delivers New Hardware for NASA’s Robotic Refueling Mission Originally published by ScienceDaily-It may be called the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM), but NASA’s RRM was built to demonstrate much more than the clever ways space robots can fill up satellites. New Hardware for a New Era of Satellite-Servicing Demonstrations

Hidden Magnetic Waves Discovered in High-Temperature Superconductors

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Originally Published by Nature Materials

Hidden Magnetic Waves Discovered in High-Temperature Superconductors Originally published by Nature- Intrinsic inefficiencies plague current systems for the generation and delivery of electricity, with significant energy lost in transit. High-temperature superconductors (HTS) — uniquely capable of transmitting electricity with zero loss when chilled to subzero temperatures — could revolutionize the planet’s aging and imperfect energy infrastructure, but the remarkable materials remain fundamentally puzzling to physicists


New technology makes “Smart Windows” even smarter

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Originally Published by Nature

New technology makes Originally published by Nature – “Smart windows”, made out of “smart glass” allow users to control the amount of light let in and ultimately save costs for heating, air-conditioning, and lighting.

First Driverless Vehicle to Hit the Roads

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Originally Published by Nanyang Technological University.

Nanyang Technological University Originally published by ScienceDaily – Singapore’s first clean and green driverless shuttle transportation system will soon see passengers shuttling between Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and JTC Corporation’s (JTC) CleanTech Park.

Starbirth Surprisingly Energetic: New Insights Into Protostars

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Originally Published by European Southern Observatory - ESO.

Starbirth Surprisingly Energetic: New Insights Into ProtostarsOriginally published by ScienceDaily – Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have obtained a vivid close-up view of material streaming away from a newborn star. By looking at the glow coming from carbon monoxide molecules in an object called Herbig-Haro 46/47 they have discovered that its jets are even more energetic than previously thought.

Computer can read letters directly from the brain

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Originally Published by EARTHSKY

Originally published by EarthSky – By analyzing MRI images of the brain with an elegant mathematical model, it is possible to reconstruct thoughts more accurately than ever before. In this way, researchers from Radboud University Nijmegen have succeeded in determining which letter a test subject was looking at.

App gives bathers pollution alerts

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Originally Published by BBC News - Science & Environment

Pollution warning app for swimmers and surfers launchedA free app that gives beach users in England and Wales real-time updates about pollution is launched, amid concern over a rise in sewage spills.

For First Time Graphene and Metal Make Super Strong Composite

New Marine Debris Tool Maps Response Projects on Great Lakes, Ocean Junk

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Marine debris washed up on shore. Credit: NOAA.

Marine debris washed up on shore. Credit: NOAA.

Thanks to the National and Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) new Marine Debris Clearinghouse, researchers and workers trying to reduce marine debris now have an effective tool to catalogue and share information. With its extensive search functions covering a variety of parameters, the Clearinghouse will allow researchers to find the information that is most applicable to their project.

According to Peter Murphy of the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), the Clearinghouse will be an important facilitator of marine debris work worldwide. “We want to help people gain access to that body of work by being able to find information on projects that might be applicable to their interests, whether that’s by searching by region, by habitat, by year, or by species,” Murphy tells Earthzine.

In its initial phase, the Clearinghouse holds records of past, ongoing, and future MDP-funded marine debris projects, according to a post on the MDP blog. The database primarily catalogues projects that focus on removal, research, and outreach. According to Murphy, plans are in place to expand the scope of the site’s information. “The site is in its initial version now, but over time we hope to continue to develop it to include more information from across the community, including existing legislation, action plans, and topic papers that synthesize the state of knowledge on a given topic within the overall issue of marine debris.”

The Marine Debris Clearinghouse offers two ways for users to find marine debris projects: the explore tab is a more traditional search function, where users can narrow down results by date, location, keyword, or type of project. The visualize tab takes users to a Google-maps based list of marine debris projects with color-coded virtual pushpins to denote the type of project. A timeline of marine debris projects is available under the visualize section, along with tables detailing each project’s goals and information.

Old fishing nets can trap many species, like this sea turtle. Credit:

Old fishing nets can trap many species, like this sea turtle. Credit: Ocean Conservancy.

According to Murphy, debris such as fishing nets and crab pots can trap marine wildlife. “Smaller pieces of debris can be ingested by fish and sea birds,” said Murphy. “Large debris—such as derelict vessels—can scour and degrade habitat on beaches and reefs.”

MDP considers marine debris to be “any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment or the Great Lakes.” However, precise figures about the amount of marine debris entering the oceans and Great Lakes are lacking. “It is very difficult to know how much debris goes into the ocean every year, but we know that significant amounts are lost and that the impacts are as varied as the types of debris,” said Murphy.

The Clearinghouse is one piece in MDP’s mission to reduce marine debris. “Even though the scale of debris can be overwhelming, it’s a solvable problem,” said Murphy. “Humans are the source of debris, and we can be the solution by changing our behaviors to prevent debris getting into the ocean, and removing the debris that is already there.”


Technology to Target Energy Poverty and River Blindness on Agenda for Latest GHTC Conference

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If you’re reading this article, illuminating a room is probably as easy for you as flipping a switch. But for 1.4 billion people on the planet, access to electricity is simply out of reach, says Nathan Johnson, an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering and Computing Systems at Arizona State University.

Nathan Johnson. Image Credit: ASME.

Nathan Johnson. Image Credit: ASME.

Johnson says that “energy poverty” is particularly acute in sub-Saharan Africa. As a graduate student, he worked setting up solar battery charging stations in rural villages in Mali. He’ll share his experience creating sustainable off-grid power systems in a tutorial at the third annual IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC), held in Silicon Valley, California, Oct. 20- 23.

More than 300 leaders in engineering, science and technology are expected at the event, up from 243 attendees, from 20 countries, at last year’s program in Seattle, Washington.

The GHTC is a unique opportunity for those working in the field of humanitarian technology to network, listen to keynote talks from international experts, and discuss some 177 technical papers, and access funding information for cutting-edge projects.

Keynote speakers for the event include Tala de los Santos, diagnostic group leader at global health innovator, PATH; Aydogan Ozan, leader of the bio- and nano-photonics laboratory at University of California, Los Angeles; and Nigel Snoad, product manager of Google Crisis Response.

Tala de los Santos will talk about her work developing diagnostic tools for neglected tropical diseases. She helped pioneer a new rapid test for river blindness, or onochocerciasis, a parasitic disease that afflicts a million people in Africa. If detected early, drugs can kill the worm that over time causes blindness. Without early treatment,

Dr. Tala de los Santos

Dr. Tala de los Santos. Image Credit: IEEE.

the worm can live up to 15 years, and that means an extended course of medicine, which controls the worm and prevents further damage. A new test developed by PATH requires just a single drop of blood and “can help provide the evidence for when the drug administration can be safely stopped,” says de los Santos.

Panel sessions at GHTC will cover a wide range of technology, with topics including:

  1. Innovating in Times of Disaster
  2. Thermoelectric Solutions for Charging Cellphones in Off-Grid locations
  3. Repair is Noble – Control of E-Waster
  4. Experts Working on how Technology Plays Critical Roles in Life in Africa
  5. EPICS: Engineering Projects in Community Service

In addition to posters and papers, several videos featuring projects from around the world will be screened at the 2013 GHTC, like the one below, shown at the 2012 conference.

Johnson, the tutorial leader, tells Earthzine he’s looking forward to sharing his work developing off-grid power solutions using HOMER (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables) software, which helps users determine the appropriate composition and size for a power system.

“The main challenges in identifying a successful solution,” says Johnson, “are accurately identifying the power needs and requirements, comparing design concepts, developing a set of reconfigurable solutions that meet the unique constraints of diverse local cultural environmental, and economic constraints, and establishing ontinuous revenue streams that finance replacement parts and equipment.”

2013 GHTC is sponsored by IEEE Seattle Section, IEEE San Francisco Bay Area Council and IEEE Region 6.

For more information, or to register for 2013 GHTC, click here.

World’s largest solar-powered boat docks in London – video

How High Tech is Helping Bring Clean Water to India

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Originally Published by Yale Environment 360

high techAnand Shah runs an Indian company that is using solar-powered “water ATMs” to bring clean water to remote villages. In an e360 interview, Shah talks about how his company is using a high-tech approach to address one of India’s most intractable public health issues.

Do crop intensification techniques hold the key to food security?

US Environment agency launches online mapping tool

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Originally Published by Esri News Feed

mapping toolEsri’s mapping tool allows users to click on any state for a list of filed EIS since 2004.

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