Kazuto Kato

Kazuto Kato
Osaka University | Handai · Department of Biomedical Ethics and Public Policy, Graduate School of Medicine

Ph.D.

About

87
Publications
15,230
Reads
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17,379
Citations
Additional affiliations
April 2012 - present
Osaka University
Position
  • Chair
January 2001 - March 2012
Kyoto University
Position
  • Professor (Associate)
November 1993 - January 2001
Biohistory Research Hall
Position
  • Researcher

Publications

Publications (87)
Article
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Discussion around the increasing use of AI in healthcare tends to focus on the technical aspects of the technology rather than the socio-technical issues associated with implementation. In this paper, we argue for the development of a sustained societal dialogue between stakeholders around the use of AI in healthcare. We contend that a more human-c...
Article
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Hereditary angioedema (HAE) adversely affects patients’ social and daily life significantly, and the disease burden is high. We recruited study participants from a patient-participatory registry, Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases Study (RUDY) Japan, to better understand the broader effect of HAE on patients’ lives. Thirteen patients with HAE who regist...
Article
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Introduction: Advancements in precision medicine and genomics have led to prospects in a wide range of clinical fields, including oncology. In particular, developments in next-generation sequencing multigene panel tests have led to the possibility of tailoring treatment to the specific genomic markers of a patient’s cancer. However, findings from c...
Article
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Patients and members of the public are the end users of healthcare, but little is known about their views on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, particularly in the Japanese context. This paper reports on an exploratory two-part workshop conducted with members of a Patient and Public Involvement Panel in Japan, which was designed...
Article
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Genome editing is a technology that can accurately and efficiently modify the genome of organisms, including the human genome. Although human genome editing (HGE) has many benefits, it also involves technical risks and ethical, legal, and social issues. Thus, the pros and cons of using this technology have been actively debated since 2015. Notably,...
Article
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Background A number of countries are leading the way in creating regulatory frameworks for preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). Among these countries, a point of consensus is that PGT may be used to avoid the birth of a child with a serious genetic disease. However, standards for evaluating disease severity in this context are not always clear. C...
Article
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Online communication with participants, including online recruitment, electronic informed consent, and data communication, is one of the fields to which information and communication technology (ICT) has been applied in medical research. Online communication provides various benefits, especially for genome research and rare disease research. Howeve...
Article
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This questionnaire-based observational study was conducted in July 2020 with the aim of understanding the ethical and social issues faced by health care providers (HCPs) registered with the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine in intensive care units (ICUs) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. There were 200 questionnaire resp...
Article
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Genomic science is increasingly central to the provision of health care. Producing and applying robust genomics knowledge is a complex endeavour in which no single individual, profession, discipline or community holds all the answers. Engagement and involvement of diverse stakeholders can support alignment of societal and scientific interests, unde...
Article
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Our article aims to provide a comprehensive portrayal of how seven Asian jurisdictions have sought to address the challenge of genetic discrimination (GD) by presenting an analysis of the relevant legislation, policies, and practices. Based on our findings, policy discussion and action on preventing or mitigating GD have been narrowly framed in ter...
Article
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The International Society for Stem Cell Research has updated its Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation in order to address advances in stem cell science and other relevant fields, together with the associated ethical, social, and policy issues that have arisen since the last update in 2016. While growing to encompass the evolvi...
Article
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The ISSCR Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation were last revised in 2016. Since then, rapid progress has been made in research areas related to in vitro culture of human embryos, creation of stem cell-based embryo models, and in vitro gametogenesis. Therefore, a working group of international experts was convened to review the...
Article
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Background The role of patients in medical research is changing, as more emphasis is being placed on patient involvement, and patient reported outcomes are increasingly contributing to clinical decision-making. Information and communication technology provides new opportunities for patients to actively become involved in research. These trends are...
Article
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Here, we argue that, in line with the dramatic increase in the collection, storage and curation of human genomic data for biomedical research, genomic data repositories and consortia have adopted governance frameworks to both enable wide access and protect against possible harms. However, the merits and limitations of di erent governance frameworks...
Article
Genetic discrimination is one of the most pervasive challenges resulting from research and development in human genetics. To collaboratively study and prevent this ethical issue, we established an international Genetic Discrimination Observatory comprising a network of researchers and stakeholders from more than 19 jurisdictions.
Chapter
Deciding how best to deal with unsought diagnostic or prognostic information provided by NGS techniques is one of the key issues for viable translation of genomics into clinical practice. The ACMG list of secondary findings is one strategy for resolving the issue of how to deal with “additional” genomic findings in adult care, but it is not the onl...
Article
While direct to consumer health-related genetic testing (DTCGT) has potential to provide accessible genetic information and empower individuals to make informed healthcare decisions, it attracts concern associated with regulatory gaps, clinical utility and potential for harm. Understanding public reactions to DTCGT is vital to facilitate considered...
Preprint
BACKGROUND Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has made remarkable progress in recent years, and is being increasingly applied to medical research. This technology has the potential to facilitate the active involvement of research participants. Digital platforms that enable participants to involve in the research process are called parti...
Article
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Background: Information and communication technology (ICT) has made remarkable progress in recent years and is being increasingly applied to medical research. This technology has the potential to facilitate the active involvement of research participants. Digital platforms that enable participants to be involved in the research process are called...
Article
In their Policy Forum “Toward unrestricted use of public genomic data” (25 January, p. 350), R. I. Amann et al. argue that once data has been cleared for release to the public domain by institutions, it should be open for use without further restrictions. However, they neglect the key point that researchers and their institutions are entrusted by r...
Article
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The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) proposes a data access policy model—“registered access”—to increase and improve access to data requiring an agreement to basic terms and conditions, such as the use of DNA sequence and health data in research. A registered access policy would enable a range of categories of users to gain access, s...
Article
Ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies are expected to solve a significant number of problems related to elderly care. However, in Japan, limited discourse on the ethical issues concerning their application is hindering the spread of AAL technologies. Against this background, this study explores the ethical perspectives of AAL technology engine...
Article
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Background: Governments, funding bodies, institutions, and publishers have developed a number of strategies to encourage researchers to facilitate access to datasets. The rationale behind this approach is that this will bring a number of benefits and enable advances in healthcare and medicine by allowing the maximum returns from the investment in...
Article
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Background: Significant advances in digital technologies have meant that health care data can be collected, stored, transferred, and analyzed for research purposes more easily than ever before. Participant-centric initiatives (PCI) are defined as "tools, programs, and projects that empower participants to engage in the research process" using digi...
Article
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Editorial summary Genome editing using clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated proteins offers the potential to facilitate safe and effective treatment of genetic diseases refractory to other types of intervention. Here, we identify some of the major challenges for clinicians, regulators, and human...
Article
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The recent research and technology development in medical genomics has raised new issues that are profoundly different from those encountered in traditional clinical research for which informed consent was developed. Global initiatives for international collaboration and public participation in genomics research now face an increasing demand for ne...
Article
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Biobanks have been heralded as essential tools for translating biomedical research into practice, driving precision medicine to improve pathways for global healthcare treatment and services. Many nations have established specific governance systems to facilitate research and to address the complex ethical, legal and social challenges that they pres...
Article
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Editorial summary The use of information and communication technology can offer a novel way to promote family-centric initiatives for informed consent, and can address associated ethical challenges in personal genome research.
Article
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Background: Disclosure of individual results to participants in genomic research is a complex and contentious issue. There are many existing commentaries and opinion pieces on the topic, but little empirical data concerning actual cases describing how individual results have been returned. Thus, the real life risks and benefits of disclosing indivi...
Article
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Common infrastructures and platforms are required for international collaborations in large-scale human genomic research and policy development, such as the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health and the 'ELSI 2.0' initiative. Such initiatives may require international harmonization of ethical and regulatory requirements. To enable this, however,...
Article
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A challenge in human genome research is how to describe the populations being studied. The use of improper and/or imprecise terms has the potential to both generate and reinforce prejudices and to diminish the clinical value of the research. The issue of population descriptors has not attracted enough academic attention outside North America and Eu...
Article
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As evidenced by high-throughput sequencers, genomic technologies have recently undergone radical advances. These technologies enable comprehensive sequencing of personal genomes considerably more efficiently and less expensively than heretofore. These developments present a challenge to the conventional framework of biomedical ethics; under these c...
Technical Report
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This symposium report compiles presentations on responsible research and innovation by leading researchers from the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom as well as presentations on the current status of research misconduct and biomedical ethics by Japanese researchers and practitioners.
Article
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The cost of whole genome sequencing is dropping rapidly. There has been a great deal of enthusiasm about the potential for this technological advance to transform clinical care. Given the interest and significant investment in genomics, this seems an ideal time to consider what the evidence tells us about potential benefits and harms, particularly...
Article
Abstract The rapid expansion of techniques for studying human genomics has remarkably changed research and practice. It is expected that more progress will be made in the field of medical and biological research owing to the technological advances. Genomics researchers collect human genetic material, including DNA and cells, from a large number of...
Article
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While modern genomics research often adheres to community norms emphasizing open data sharing, many genomics institutes and projects have recently nuanced such norms with a corpus of data release policies. In particular, publication moratoria and data retention policies have been enacted to 'reward' data producers and ensure data quality control. G...
Article
Alongside the scientific barriers to the clinical translation of stem cell research are ethical and regulatory hurdles. Some of these challenges described by the Ethics and Public Policy Committee at the ISSCR Tenth Annual Meeting are presented here.
Article
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We need an international infrastructure for the ethical, legal, and social implications of genomic research.
Article
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Because of its importance to society, the science of mind and behavior is an academic field in which ethical and social considerations are vital. When examining these issues, the opinions of life-science researchers must be considered. In this article, the authors elicit and describe the opinions of sixty-one Japanese life-science researchers on th...
Article
Hepatocellular carcinoma, one of the most common virus-associated cancers, is the third most frequent cause of cancer-related death worldwide. By massively parallel sequencing of a primary hepatitis C virus-positive hepatocellular carcinoma (36× coverage) and matched lymphocytes (>28× coverage) from the same individual, we identified more than 11,0...
Article
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Keywords: Asia-Pacific, genomics and education, genomics and society, Japan, personal genomics, public understanding of genomics, science communication, social studies of genomics and personalized medicine.
Article
Although it is a leader in many fields of stem cell research, Japan's policies on many areas of stem cell research have not been widely reported or analyzed in the international literature. In this report, we provide an overview of Japan's centralized approach to regulation and analyze its policy implementation.
Article
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The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) was launched to coordinate large-scale cancer genome studies in tumours from 50 different cancer types and/or subtypes that are of clinical and societal importance across the globe. Systematic studies of more than 25,000 cancer genomes at the genomic, epigenomic and transcriptomic levels will reveal...
Article
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The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) was launched to coordinate large-scale cancer genome studies in tumours from 50 different cancer types and/or subtypes that are of clinical and societal importance across the globe. Systematic studies of more than 25,000 cancer genomes at the genomic, epigenomic and transcriptomic levels will reveal...
Article
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The lack of knowledge of current public attitudes towards basic research into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is a serious problem when considering appropriate ways of governance regarding research and its clinical applications. We therefore conducted an internet-based survey to determine public opinion regarding the research and development...
Article
The field of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) will be subject to a wide range of laws and research ethics policies, many of which exist as a result of the controversies associated with research on human embryonic stem cells. Understanding this potentially complex regulatory environment will help iPSC research move forward and will inform futu...
Article
Given the explosion of research on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, it is timely to consider the various ethical, legal, and social issues engaged by this fast-moving field. Here, we review issues associated with the procurement, basic research, and clinical translation of iPS cells.
Article
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New laws regulating the use of genetically modified organisms have recently been enacted in Japan, and there were many stakeholders involved in the development of this policy. Our review of the history and the debates held in the course of policy development regarding genetically modified organisms in Japan shows that the current regulatory system...
Article
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Mouse-related research in the life sciences has expanded remarkably over the last two decades, resulting in growing use of the term “mouse model”. Our interviews with 64 leading Japanese life sciences researchers showed heterogeneities in the definition of “mouse model” in the Japanese life sciences community. Here, we discuss the implications for...
Article
Genome science, including topics such as gene recombination, cloning, genetic tests, and gene therapy, is now an established part of our daily lives; thus we need to learn genome science to better equip ourselves for the present day. Learning from topics directly related to the human has been suggested to be more effective than learning from Mendel...
Article
N-myc expression in the mouse embryo was examined in its organogenesis period. Northern blot analysis of total RNA of embryos from 9.5 days to 17.5 days of gestation indicated that N-myc mRNA level was the highest at 9.5 days and decreased as development proceeded. Tissue distribution of N-myc expression in 9.5 day embryos was histologically analyz...
Article
One of the transgenic mice carrying a chicken δ-crystallin gene was found to be mosaic with regard to the distribution of the exogenous gene. Taking advantage of the exogenous DNA sequences as a cell lineage marker detectable by histological in situ hybridization technique, we studied cellular mosaicism in mouse 7–5. This mouse carried the exogenou...
Article
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The rapid spread of technologies involving the application of “Genetic Modification (GM)” raised the need for science communication on this new technology in society. To consider the communication on GM in the society, an understanding of the current mass media is required. This paper shows the whole picture of newspaper discourses on GM in Japan....
Article
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We describe the Phase II HapMap, which characterizes over 3.1 million human single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped in 270 individuals from four geographically diverse populations and includes 25-35% of common SNP variation in the populations surveyed. The map is estimated to capture untyped common variation with an average maximum r2 of b...
Article
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With the advent of dense maps of human genetic variation, it is now possible to detect positive natural selection across the human genome. Here we report an analysis of over 3 million polymorphisms from the International HapMap Project Phase 2 (HapMap2). We used 'long-range haplotype' methods, which were developed to identify alleles segregating in...
Article
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It is essential for scientists to introduce their research in a comprehensible manner and to communicate with colleagues in the same/different fields and with the public. As genome research requires the massive expenditure of public funds, and raises ethical, legal, and social issues, genome scientists have communicated extensively with the public....
Article
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The goal of the International HapMap Project is to determine the common patterns of DNA sequence variation in the human genome and to make this information freely available in the public domain. An international consortium is developing a map of these patterns across the genome by determining the genotypes of one million or more sequence variants,...
Article
Science in the twentieth century became divided into specialized branches and became closed off within the specialist community. To bring science back into Japanese society, we developed the Scientist Library as an attempt to transmit the personality and research of individual scientists. Our goal was to show the present state of science as a whole...
Article
In Amphibia, mesoderm cells such as notochord, muscle, and blood are formed as a result of mesoderm induction, the first known inductive interaction during the embryonic development of Vertebrates. Recent evidence shows, however, that, in addition to mesoderm induction, further cell-cell interactions during gastrulation also play an important role...
Article
Xenopus mesoderm cells destined to form notochord have been isolated at various stages of gastrulation and cultured singly or in multicellular reaggregates in ectodermal sandwiches. When taken from mid gastrulae, singly implanted notochord progenitor cells can subsequently express the notochord marker MZ15. In contrast, the same cells taken from an...
Article
Guidelines for submitting commentsPolicy: Comments that contribute to the discussion of the article will be posted within approximately three business days. We do not accept anonymous comments. Please include your email address; the address will not be displayed in the posted comment. Cell Press Editors will screen the comments to ensure that they...
Article
We present a new method for the construction of subtracted cDNA libraries. It makes use of two directional cDNA libraries in phagemid vectors and has two advantages over traditional protocols: it can be used when a limiting amount of driver material is available and the cDNA inserts in the subtracted libraries are long enough to encode functional p...
Article
The community effect is an interaction among muscle progenitor cells of amphibian gastrula, and is necessary for the initiation of muscle-specific gene expression. Dorsalization provides a signal that can convert ventral mesoderm cells to a muscle fate. Neither process involves mesoderm-inducing molecules. We suggest that the developmental signific...
Article
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We have used a single-cell transplantation technique to find out whether there is a stage in development when a single cell can reach and maintain its differentiated state in the absence of its neighbors. Muscle precursor cells from early, mid-, and late gastrula stages of Xenopus laevis embryos were isolated and transplanted singly into the ventra...
Article
Most vertebrate tissues arise by embryonic induction, as a result of which new cell layers are formed. These are subsequently subdivided into discrete groups of homogeneous cell populations, each containing different cell-types with specific gene expression. There is preliminary evidence from previous work that the mesoderm-forming induction in amp...
Article
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In Xenopus an early morphological marker of mesodermal induction is the elongation of the mesoderm at the early gastrula stage (Symes and Smith, 1987). We show here that the elongation of equatorial (marginal) tissue is dependent on protein synthesis in a mid blastula, but has become independent of it by the late blastula stage. In animal caps indu...
Article
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We cloned the chicken N-myc gene and analyzed its structure and expression. We found that it consisted of three exons with coding regions in exons 2 and 3. Comparison to mammalian N-myc genomic sequence indicated that nucleotide sequences of the 5'-flanking region, noncoding exon 1, and introns were not conserved, but coding and 3' noncoding sequen...
Article
We cloned the chicken N-myc gene and analyzed its structure and expression. We found that it consisted of three exons with coding regions in exons 2 and 3. Comparison to mammalian N-myc genomic sequence indicated that nucleotide sequences of the 5'-flanking region, noncoding exon 1, and introns were not conserved, but coding and 3' noncoding sequen...
Article
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The level of expression of N-myc in mouse teratocarcinoma stem cells is very high. Previous studies have shown that N-myc expression significantly decreases when the stem cells are subjected to long-term induction for differentiation by retinoic acid (RA). We found that in a stem cell line, OTF9, a steep yet transient decrease of N-myc expression t...
Article
The level of expression of N-myc in mouse teratocarcinoma stem cells is very high. Previous studies have shown that N-myc expression significantly decreases when the stem cells are subjected to long-term induction for differentiation by retinoic acid (RA). We found that in a stem cell line, OTF9, a steep yet transient decrease of N-myc expression t...
Article
We previously reviewed what we had learned about the regulation of the delta 1-crystallin gene through experiments using gene transfer techniques [Kondoh et al. (1986) Cell Differ. 19, 151-160]. It was concluded then that regulatory genetic elements for the lens-specific expression are associated with the delta 1-crystallin gene, and that these chi...
Article
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N-myc expression is under stage- and tissue-specific regulation in mammalian development, but its function is totally unknown. We sought agents to block N-myc activity in order to infer from the effect the possible function of N-myc in the apparently complex processes. As candidates for such agents, we tested fusion genes encoding N-myc:beta-galact...
Article
N-myc expression is under stage- and tissue-specific regulation in mammalian development, but its function is totally unknown. We sought agents to block N-myc activity in order to infer from the effect the possible function of N-myc in the apparently complex processes. As candidates for such agents, we tested fusion genes encoding N-myc:beta-galact...
Article
To study regulation of delta-crystallin expression during ontogeny, we transferred the gene from chicken into developing mouse embryos by first transforming an embryonic stem (ES) cell line of mouse and then producing chimaeric embryos by combining them with normal mouse embryos. Using this technique, genes were transferred into a variety of develo...
Article
Cell lines, such as those of teratocarcinoma and embryonic stem cells, fail to support high G418 resistance after transfection of neo vectors. To alleviate this, we modified pSV2-neo in two steps, first with tandem promoters of SV40 early genes and HSVtk, then by removing an improper met codon located immediately upstream of the authentic initiator...
Article
Two transgenic mice, 5-8 and 7-5, carrying the chicken delta-crystallin gene were produced by microinjecting cloned genes into male pronuclei. The mice were analyzed at 8 weeks of age with respect to gene integration and expression by means of blotting techniques and immunohistochemistry. Southern blot analysis indicated that both mice carried, on...

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