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☆ Are we in the Anthropocene Epoch? Not so fast, geologists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Scientists have voted against a proposal to declare a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene to reflect how profoundly human activity has altered the planet. The vote followed a 15-year process to select a geological site that best captures humanity’s impact on the planet. Some experts argued that the start of the Anthropocene could be better defined in other ways, such as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. “This is the commission’s expert group for this interval of geological time and we are bound by its decision. Regardless of whether the term is officially classified as a geological epoch, Anthropocene is already widely in use, Cohen noted.

Persons: Kim Cohen, ”, Cohen, Phil Gibbard, eon, Colin Waters, Waters, …, David Harper, ” Harper, hadn’t, “ Organizations: CNN —, International Union of Geological Sciences, CNN Tuesday, geosciences, Utrecht University, Scott Polar Research, University of Cambridge, Geologists, University of Leicester, Durham University, International, of Locations: Ontario, Netherlands, United Kingdom

☆ Iceland scientists want to drill a hole straight into a reservoir of molten magma about a mile underground. It could generate limitless energy.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Scientists in Iceland want to drill straight into an underground magma chamber. AdvertisementScientists in Iceland want to drill a hole into a magma chamber about a mile underground in an attempt to generate limitless energy. KMTIngólfsson expects one well on a magma chamber could be as productive as 10 other wells elsewhere. I'm not sure how much more efficient systems would be if drilled into a magma chamber," he said. AdvertisementA short time to get a lot of moneyKMT hopes to break ground on the first hole into the magma chamber in 2026.

Persons: —, Ingólfsson, Mika Mika, Paolo Papale, Jon Gluyas, Iceland Layne Kennedy, Gluyas, Hafsteinn Karlsson, it's Organizations: Service, Scientists, Italy's National, of Geophysics, Volcanology, New, KMT, Durham University, Global Geothermal Energy Advancement Association, KMT Ingólfsson, Gluyas Locations: Iceland, Namafjall, Pisa, Northern Iceland, Landmannalaugar, Krafla, Mexico, Kenya, Ethiopia, Italy

☆ A picture of an old computer is making millennials nostalgic for a time when the internet felt like a luxury
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-04 | by ( Andrew Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. On December 19, an X user who goes by Dexter shared an image of a retro-looking desktop that many millennials likely grew up with. "There was a time when we respected the computer," they wrote alongside the image. Many said they missed the days when they weren't constantly logged in and connected to the online world 24/7. And if you're still unconvinced, here's a reminder of the realities of the internet of yesteryear:

Persons: —, Dexter, seJcPZV8RW — Dexter, @planet_nerf, they'd, Forrester, @somefrogs.co, Z Organizations: Service, Business, MSN, Durham University, Facebook Locations: Canada

☆ Planet-forming disk detected around star in another galaxy for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —For the first time, astronomers have glimpsed a young star outside the Milky Way galaxy that’s ringed by a dense disk where planets may form. The massive star, called HH 1177, and its rotating disk were spotted in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighboring dwarf galaxy that’s about 160,000 light-years away. The gas and dust accumulate in a flat disk around the star, known as an accretion disk, as a result of strong gravitational forces. The Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE instrument, on the telescope captured a jet of material releasing from the young star. To discern whether a disk was present around the star, the team needed to measure how quickly dense gas moved around the star.

Persons: ”, Anna McLeod, ” McLeod, McLeod, Jonathan Henshaw, aren’t, “ Organizations: CNN, Durham University, Southern, ESO, Liverpool John Moores University Locations: ALMA, United Kingdom, Chile

☆ In a first, a newborn star's spinning disk is seen in another galaxy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Newborn stars with these circumstellar disks had been observed by astronomers only in our Milky Way galaxy - until now. Observing these disks in other galaxies is very important because it tells us about how stars form in environments different from that of the Milky Way," McLeod added. The Large Magellanic Cloud is considered a satellite galaxy of the sprawling Milky Way, as is another galaxy called the Small Magellanic Cloud. The Large Magellanic Cloud has less dust than the Milky Way and a smaller content of what astronomers call metallic elements - those other than hydrogen and helium. McLeod expressed hope for detecting other circumstellar disks in the Large Magellanic Cloud and perhaps the further Small Magellanic Cloud.

Persons: Anna McLeod, McLeod, Jonathan Henshaw, Liverpool, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: European Southern Observatory, Durham University, Liverpool John Moores University, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, England, Atacama

☆ Scientists think they've finally solved the decades-long mystery of why our Milky Way galaxy is so rare
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Spiral galaxies like the Milky Way are surprisingly rare in our galactic neighborhood. The Milky Way, for example, is a spiral galaxy because of the way that stars, dust, and gas spiral out from the center of the galaxy. But spiral galaxies like ours are surprisingly rare in our galactic neighborhood, and for years, astronomers have wondered why since the 1960s. The simulation showed that galaxies in dense clusters, like the one our Milky Way calls home, experienced frequent collisions and mergers. For example, when two spiral galaxies collide, it's thought to create what's called an elliptical galaxy.

Persons: —, Carlos Frenk Organizations: Service, Institute, Durham University

☆ Digital detoxes can cut FOMO but may not make you any happier, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Researchers say a "digital detox" won't leave you with any withdrawal symptoms. AdvertisementAdvertisementGoing on a full "digital detox" may not be all that beneficial after all, according to a new study by researchers at Durham University. They say that the findings show social media may not be as addictive as some claim. The digital detox did cause the participants to feel fewer negative emotions, like intimidation and harassment, and many reported experiencing less FOMO. AdvertisementAdvertisementExperts haven't reached a consensus on how harmful and addictive social media really is.

Persons: disconnecting, —, Molly Russell, Pinterest, Sally Andrews Organizations: Service, Durham University, Facebook, Meta, Nottingam Trent University

☆ Intricate animal patterns: A new study could have the answer
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But Turing’s theory didn’t explain how the patterns would remain so defined in a species such as the ornate boxfish. The team of engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder explored how a mechanism called diffusiophoresis might create sharp patterns in a new study published Wednesday in the journal of Science Advances. … It is at least one possible way to sharpen regions of gene expression,” said Krause, who was not involved in the study. “Cells are extremely sticky and are very unlikely to be moved by diffusiophoresis,” said Green, who was not involved in the study, in an email. Green coauthored a February 2012 study that had found evidence to support Turing’s theory when it came to the ridges on a mouse’s palate.

Persons: Alan Turing, creamer, ”, Ankur Gupta, diffusiophoresis, Gupta, Andrew Krause, Krause, Jeremy Green, Green, ” Green, ” Gupta Organizations: CNN, University of Colorado, University of Colorado Boulder, Durham University, University of Warwick, King’s College London Locations: University of Colorado Boulder, “, United Kingdom, diffusiophoresis

☆ Chunks of an alien world could be hidden deep within our planet, say scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This alien planet, Theia, was thought to have completely disappeared in the collision. AdvertisementAdvertisementAs well as shedding new light on the inner workings of our planet, scientists hope they will one day have access to these slabs of alien rock to reveal, once and for all, how our moon formed. The assumption has long been that Theia melded into moon, the Earth's mantle, and its core, in effect disappearing completely. Previous theories have suggested this core-mantle boundary could be made up of bits of ancient ocean floors. The problem is that the core-mantle boundary is very far from the surface — about 1,800 miles.

Persons: Theia, Vincent Eke, Jacob A, haven't, Edward Garnero, Li, Hongping Deng, Everest, Deng, Christian Schroeder Organizations: Service, Arizona State University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Durham University, University of Stirling Locations: Theia, Iceland, Samoa

☆ Apollo 17 astronauts collected rocks that reveal the moon’s true age
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The moon’s gravitational pull is also the force behind ocean tides and partly why our planet has a 24-hour day. Geologist and astronaut Harrison Schmitt used an adjustable sampling scoop to retrieve lunar samples during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Zircon crystals formed as the moon cooled 4.46 billion years ago, and a new analysis traced them in the Apollo 17 samples. NASAAn ancient landscape has been discovered beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet, thanks to ice-penetrating radar. Understanding the hidden, well-preserved landscape could help scientists predict the evolution of the ice sheet and how it may fare as temperatures warm in the climate crisis.

Persons: Harrison Schmitt, Eugene Cernan, ”, Jennika Greer, Nick Gray, James Webb, Stewart Jamieson, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, NASA, Apollo, University of Glasgow, JBA Consulting, Environment Agency Engineers, Environment, Durham University, CNN Space, Science Locations: Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, England's Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight, Orkney Islands, Denman, East Antarctica, Belgium, North Wales, Iraq, Syria

☆ Ancient landscape formed by rivers revealed deep under Antarctic ice
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Researchers said on Tuesday they have detected buried under the continent's ice sheet a vast ancient landscape, replete with valleys and ridges, apparently shaped by rivers before being engulfed by glaciation long ago. Ancient palm tree pollen has been discovered from Antarctica, not far around the coast from our study site," Jamieson added. Some previous studies similarly have revealed ancient landscapes beneath Antarctica's ice including mountains and highlands, though the landscape discovered in the new study was the first of its type. Right before 34 million years ago, Antarctica's landscape and flora likely resembled today's cold temperate rainforests of Tasmania, New Zealand and South America's Patagonia region, Ross added. When that ice growth occurred, the conditions between the base of the ice and the landscape changed to become very cold - and in this way it was no longer able to erode our landscape.

Persons: Stewart Jamieson, Antarctica's, Jamieson, Neil Ross, Ross, Will Dunham, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Durham University, Handout, REUTERS, Rights, Antarctica, Nature Communications, Newcastle University, Thomson Locations: Belgium, Wilkes Land, East Antarctica, Antarctica, East Antarctica's Wilkes Land, ., Maryland, England, Patagonia, Greenland, Tasmania , New Zealand, South, Africa, South America, Australia

☆ How Hezbollah could draw US troops into a wider war in the Middle East
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The Israel-Hamas war could spark a wider regional conflict in the Middle East. AdvertisementAdvertisementPresident Joe Biden this week touched down in Israel as the Middle East was engulfed in new turmoil. AdvertisementAdvertisementThey'd threatened to attack Israel in support of Hamas before the hospital attack, with clashes in recent days between Hezbollah and Israeli forces on Israel's northern border intensifying. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn Hezbollah, Israel faces an opponent that is better armed and trained than the Gaza-based Hamas militia. "They want to pressure Israel via Hezbollah when Israel is already stretched and distracted," said Burrows.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Biden, Michael DiMino, Benjamin Netanyahu, BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, Ebrahim Raisi, Israel, JOSEPH EID, Mat Burrows, Burrows, Robert Dover, Stimson Center's Burrows, Iran's, Clive Jones, DiMino Organizations: Service, Hezbollah, CIA, Israel, Tel Aviv's, Getty, Al, UN, West Bank, Embassy, Washington, Stimson Center, Missile, AFP, Kremlin, University of Hull, Institute for, Durham University Locations: Israel, East, Iran, Gaza, Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion, AFP, Ahli, Gaza City, — Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, DC, Russia, China, Ukraine, Taiwan, Syrian, Iraq, Yemen, United States

☆ The Zoom backgrounds that make you look more - or less - trustworthy, according to experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

That’s according to new research, which looks at how people’s choice of Zoom background could be helping or hindering them. And we found that the living room and novelty backgrounds were the worst,” he said. Not everyone has a home office but yet there’s something that still seems a little unserious [about a home or novelty background]. “We found that generally smiling makes you look more trustworthy and competent, no matter what the background,” he said. “Female faces were also rated as more trustworthy and more competent, regardless of the background they were using,” the researchers wrote.

Persons: Paddy Ross, bookcases, ”, “, …, ” Ross, Ross Organizations: CNN, United Kingdom’s Durham University, Durham University

☆ Neanderthal flower burial theory called into question by new study
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Faye Chiu | Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Archaeologist Ralph Solecki discovered the flower burial, as it came to be known, while exploring Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. However, elements of the flower burial theory didn’t seem to add up. “That was, for us, an indication that maybe there was something going on with the flower burial,” Hunt said. Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq is seen in May. Its presence is due to the activity of bees and not flower burial, suggests a study led by Chris Hunt, professor emeritus at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.

Persons: Ralph Solecki, Solecki, ”, Chris Hunt, Hunt, ” Hunt, Christopher Owen Hunt, they’re, Christopher Owen Hunt Hunt, “, Paul Pettitt, Pettitt, Hunt “, Fred Smith, it’s, Grandma, Joe, ’ ” Hunt, Shanidar Organizations: CNN, Liverpool John Moores University, Archaeological Science, Durham University, Illinois State University Locations: Kurdistan, Iraq, United Kingdom, Shanidar

☆ Can A.I. steal your password? Study finds 95% accuracy by listening to keyboard typing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCan A.I. Study finds 95% accuracy by listening to keyboard typingJoshua Harrison, software development engineer and A.I. researcher, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the use of A.I. to crack passwords, after researchers at Durham University trained an A.I. model to recognize passwords by listening to keystrokes with 95% accuracy, and more.

Persons: Joshua Harrison Organizations: Durham University

☆ Konrad Putzier — Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Konrad Putzier | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Konrad PutzierKonrad Putzier is a commercial property reporter at The Wall Street Journal in New York. He writes about real estate, economic development and the short-term rental industry. Prior to the Journal, Konrad was a reporter at the Real Deal and Real Estate Weekly. Konrad is a Hamburg, Germany, native and a graduate of Durham University in the U.K. and Yale University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

Persons: Konrad Putzier Konrad Putzier, Konrad Organizations: Wall Street, Real Deal, Real, Durham University, Yale University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Locations: New York, Hamburg, Germany

☆ Hackers could now steal passwords over Zoom by listening to keystrokes using AI — and they'll be right 93% of the time, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AI can steal passwords from keystroke sounds recorded over Zoom with up to 93% accuracy, per a new study. The accuracy rate ratcheted up to 95% when keystrokes were recorded using an iPhone 13 mini. Moreover, the accuracy rate rose to 95% when keystrokes were recorded using an iPhone 13 mini. Touch typing and adding background noise also seemed to lower the accuracy rate of the AI tool. AI tools can make online scams harder to detect because AI makes it easier to personalize scams for each target, Insider reported last Tuesday.

Organizations: Durham University, University of Surrey, Royal Holloway University of London, NSA

☆ From the Women’s World Cup to Wimbledon, a Victory Everyone Can Share
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | More About Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

If you watch winners in dresses, you think winners wear dresses. And it exists, Ms. Fleshman said, “until someone asks to change it.” Until someone says, effectively, “Wait — why are we doing it this way?”Wait. Wait, why are athletes wearing white shorts and wondering if spectators can tell they are menstruating instead of focusing on doing their job? Wait, why are the armholes of basketball jerseys so enormous that they act like windows to the sports bra? Or so found Hajo Adam, an organizational psychologist at the University of Bath in England, and Adam D. Galinsky in their 2012 paper, “Enclothed Cognition,” which looked at the effect white lab coats have on the wearers.

Persons: Sepp Blatter, Fleshman, “ It’s, Ms, Howard, “, Adam, Adam D Organizations: FIFA, AIBA, University of Bath, Durham University, aha Locations: England

☆ ‘Underground climate change’ is deforming the ground beneath buildings, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A phenomenon that scientists have called “underground climate change” is deforming the ground beneath cities, a study conducted in Chicago has found. Technically known as “subsurface heat islands,” underground climate change is the warming of the ground under our feet, caused by heat released by buildings and subterranean transportation such as subway systems. “Deformations caused by underground climate change are relatively small in magnitude, but they continuously develop,” he said. “Calling it climate change seems like a bit of a coattail thing,” Archer, who was not involved with the study, said. The term “underground climate change,” however, was not coined for this study — it has been in use, and the phenomenon a subject of research, for some time.

Persons: ”, Alessandro Rotta Loria, Rotta Loria, David Archer, ” Archer, Rotta, Bruce Leighty, David Toll Organizations: CNN, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, “, Communications Engineering, Chicago, Institute of Hazard, Durham University Locations: Chicago, Evanston , Illinois, Grant Park, Lake Michigan, United Kingdom

☆ Viral ad makes gender statement as Matildas call for equal prizes in Women's World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Brisbane, Australia CNN —Days out from the start of the Women’s World Cup, teams are turning up the pressure on the sport’s governing body and spectators to give women players equal pay and respect. The women players say it’s not enough. “Many football ‘fans,’ without ever having watched women’s football, have strong opinions about the level of the players,” according to according to trade journal Marketing Communication News. At the end, it’s revealed that viewers have been watching members of the women’s team. “What we need to reach equality and justice on the pitch and beyond is a gender revolution.”Sakina Karchaoui of France in action during a friendly match between Australia and Canada ahead of the FIFA Women's World Cup in Melbourne, Australia on 14 July, 2023.

Persons: it’s, Eugenie Le Sommer of France, Baptiste Fernandez, Marcel, “, Stacey Pope, Mark Avellino, …, —, Gianni Infantino, ”, Infantino Organizations: Australia CNN, Orange, French national, Zealand, FIFA, Tallaght, Communication, Football, French Women’s, Durham University, Australian, Twitter, Australia, Socceroos, ”, FIFA Women’s Locations: Brisbane, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Eden, Qatar, Ireland, France, Tallaght, Orange, French, United Kingdom, Canada, Melbourne

☆ Plague: Oldest known cases in Britain uncovered in mass burial
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A team of researchers excavating mass burial sites in England have detected the DNA of the bacteria that caused the plague in human skeletal remains — and they are the oldest known cases of the disease in Great Britain. The bacterial DNA is thousands of years more ancient than the oldest strain uncovered prior to this latest finding. When it comes to the disease, there is a lot that scientists still don’t know — including how it spread, Swali said. And science may never truly know the severity of the plague 4,000 years ago when it came to humans, Roberts said. And while there are historical records of plague outbreaks, ancient DNA could potentially give us a look even further back, Swali said.

Persons: CNN —, Pooja Swali, Francis Crick, Swali, ”, Benjamin Roberts, ” Swali, Lee Mordechai, pestis, Roberts, ” Roberts, paleogeneticists, Mordechai, ” Mordechai Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, Francis, Francis Crick Institute, Durham University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Locations: England, Great Britain, Cambridgeshire, London, Somerset, Cumbria, Scotland, United Kingdom, Britain, Europe

☆ Why Do We Listen to Sad Songs?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Oliver Whang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Maybe sad songs have a similarly dual nature, thought Dr. Knobe and his former student, Tara Venkatesan, a cognitive scientist and operatic soprano. Certainly, research has found that our emotional response to music is multidimensional; you’re not just happy when you listen to a beautiful song, nor simply made sad by a sad one. In 2016, a survey of 363 listeners found that emotional responses to sad songs fell roughly into three categories: grief, including powerful negative feelings like anger, terror and despair; melancholia, a gentle sadness, longing or self-pity; and sweet sorrow, a pleasant pang of consolation or appreciation. (The researchers called their study “Fifty Shades of Blue.”)Given the layers of emotion and the imprecision of language, it’s perhaps no wonder that sad music lands as a paradox. “All our lives we’ve learned to map the relationships between our emotions and what we sound like,” said Tuomas Eerola, a musicologist at Durham University in England and a researcher on the “Fifty Shades” study.

☆ An 'ultramassive' black hole has been discovered that's 33 billion times the mass of the sun
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They estimate this black hole is 30 billion times bigger than our sun. That would make it one of the biggest black holes ever discovered. This black hole may remain one of the biggest holes ever discovered because physicists think black holes can't grow much bigger than that, Nightingale said. The technique could unveil 'inactive' black holesThe discovery of this black hole pushes back the limits of cosmology, Nightingale told the BBC. "How do you form a black hole this big in just 13 billion years of the universe's existence?"

☆ One of Elon Musk's top lieutenants at Twitter says she 'grew up in a cult'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Esther Crawford, a leader at Elon Musk's Twitter, said on social media that she "grew up in a cult." Crawford has become a key player in Musk's takeover and went viral for sleeping in the office. She also was a social media strategist for Weight Watchers between 2007 to 2012. At Twitter, she serves as the director of product management and has quickly become one of Musk's top executives at the company. Since, she has survived multiple rounds of layoffs at the social media company.

☆ ISSB Plans to Finalize Rules on Disclosure of Climate-Related Risks in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

And then quite naturally, we’re now looking at what’s next,” Mr. Faber said. The International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, an accounting standards body based in London, launched the ISSB to develop sustainability reporting standards. One of the rule proposals would see companies disclose significant climate-related risks, such as floods and other extreme weather events. The number of global companies reporting under four different frameworks rose to 255 in 2020 from eight in 2019, the data shows. These “adjacent topics” are top of mind for investors, according to Mr. Faber.

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