Health and medicine in a pandemic year: moving from the “winter of despair” to the “spring of hope”
2020; Wiley; Volume: 213; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês
10.5694/mja2.50861
ISSN1326-5377
Autores Tópico(s)Climate Change and Health Impacts
ResumoDespite a year of floods, fires and pestilence, we approach 2021 with optimism It has been a strange and disturbing year. Here in Australia, we would usually now be looking forward to the long summer break, the barbeques and the parties, the leisure time at home. Many would be traveling overseas to visit friends and family. But these have not been normal times. The year has left an indelible mark on a generation; to paraphrase Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, we have lived through the best of times, the worst of times, the winter of despair, the spring of hope. From a devastating bushfire season in Australia1, 2 to floods to the COVID-19 pandemic (including an intense second lockdown in Victoria and internal border closures), increased mental distress and family violence during pandemic restrictions,3 delusional conspiracy theories on social media (eg, 5G spreads SARS-CoV-2, or the pandemic is a hoax), and social unrest and Black Lives Matter protests around the globe:4 the multiple crises in 2020 have revealed the best, and the worst, of humanity. The MJA is proud to have played a role in the national discussion and debate about the COVID-19 pandemic, with the very rapid publication of evidence-based guidelines, perspectives, and expert commentaries. We have published research innovations, such as the isolation, sequencing, and sharing of SARS-CoV-2 from the first Australian patient5 to the 3D printing of nasal swabs6 and disease models that have had a major impact on government responses.7-9 The MJA has engaged in the debate about how to protect health care workers from infection,10 a devastating outcome of the pandemic that was largely preventable. MJA authors have jumped into the often heated debates about schools and virus transmission,11 the value of face masks,12 the positive and negative effects of various public health measures,10, 13 lessons learned in an early nursing home outbreak,14 the urgency of ensuring sufficient numbers of intensive care beds,15 professional guidelines,16, 17 and protecting Indigenous Australians,18 to name a few of the areas touched upon in our Journal. As, despite evidence and expert agreement, aberrant beliefs continued to circulate widely on social media, often causing alarm, the MJA has provided a source of reputable peer-reviewed evidence, with expert syntheses of what is known and what has changed, published as rapidly as is responsible.19 Innovation at the MJA has continued and accelerated during the pandemic. The MJA flipbook was launched, and is now the preferred way for reading the Journal for many of our subscribers; the end of the dominance of print publication is in sight. The team has successfully worked from home, and coped with a doubling in submissions that spiked with the start of the pandemic, and continues. Even with increased efficiency, however, it takes time to rigorously assess submitted articles, and the sheer volume of submissions has had an impact on the turnaround and publication times of most leading journals, including the MJA.20 More pleasing is that our latest (2019) Clarivate journal impact factor, 6.112, is our highest ever, firming our position in the top 10% of general medical journals (Box 1).21 Source: Journal Citation reports, Clarivate, October 2020. The pandemic has fundamentally changed journal publishing.19, 22 The thirst for information has driven publication times down and accelerated the reviewing of manuscripts, an approach that has also drawn justifiable criticism.22, 23 The urgency to communicate findings has led to some of the studies submitted to us being publicised in the media ahead of editorial and peer review; this is a practice we do not encourage, because it entails the risk of disseminating inaccurate information. Prominent retractions by the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine23 have led to careful review of processes at the MJA, but we recognise that, despite all safeguards, the risk of serious breaches, including deliberate fraud, remains, and vigilance cannot be relaxed. We have strictly maintained our insistence on strong ethical standards, and continue to require formal ethics assessment for publication of patient-related data, including data from quality assurance audits. We regularly review and update all our processes to ensure maximum rigour, and are confident our standards are as strong as those of the leading journals around the world. Early in the pandemic, we established a pre-print facility on our website for high priority COVID-19 articles deemed worthy of inclusion after comprehensive internal methodological review and, when appropriate, rapid external review.19 These manuscripts have some validity checks, unlike articles on many pre-print servers, but we have often still been able to post them online within 48 hours of receipt. All pre-prints have subsequently undergone our usual stringent peer review and revision processes before the final decision about publication in the Journal. The MJA rejection rates have remained very high for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 manuscripts (Box 2). While our pre-prints undergo (often extensive) revision before final acceptance, it is pleasing that none has had to be withdrawn or removed for any reason. Despite the pandemic and severely curtailed international travel, the world is unlikely to meet the Paris targets for reducing CO2 emissions.2 Early in the year, Australia experienced an unprecedented and devastating bushfire season, an event repeated on the west coast of the United States. It is therefore timely that the MJA–Lancet report card on health and climate change in Australia appears for the third consecutive year in the Journal, reflecting the efforts of five Australian institutions in collaboration with University College London, brought together by a partnership between The Lancet and the MJA.2 As a nation, we are underachievers in climate action, having arguably earned a failing grade. Australia continues to experience increased summer temperatures and intense heatwaves that contribute to massive bushfires, and these are predicted to worsen.24 The “Black Summer” bushfires in early 2020 increased airborne particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations, damaging health, and caused huge loss of property and livelihoods.1, 25 The science is clear: climate change is a major health risk, and action is needed right now. The reported findings emphasise the urgent need to tackle climate change to reduce the health risks for generations to come, and Australia needs to be a leader, not a laggard. The MJA has not shied from other sensitive health and social questions, including racism.4 The Black Lives Matter movement has sent a powerful message around the world, and any lingering racism in the health system must be exposed and eliminated. The MJA continues to welcome evidence-based articles on all aspects of the social determinants of health, a key pillar that must be strengthened if we aspire to be the healthiest (and happiest) multicultural nation on Earth. Despite much gloom this year, with floods, fires and pestilence, I feel a renewed sense of optimism is now gripping Australia. The rapid and successful introduction of telehealth has changed the Australian medical landscape for the better. Australia and New Zealand were each global leaders in their public health responses to the pandemic, our health outcomes the envy of the world; we have not experienced the mortality and morbidity our friends in the United Kingdom and the United States have. One lesson learned is that the economy cannot be protected if a virus is running rampant; another is that restrictions during a public health emergency are not infringements of human rights. It is encouraging that the progress of phase III clinical trials of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines suggests that we can be optimistic that the pandemic will be brought to heel in 2021, although it is still early days. And the MJA certainly didn’t cancel Christmas this year, despite the pandemic. The annual Christmas competition submissions flooded in with gusto, too many to publish! We finally accepted two poems, including one that helps capture a flavour of the shared experience this year,26, 27 and four excellent articles that we hope will entertain and amuse. Read about the mystery of the disappearing hospital tearoom cutlery,28 learn about falling in love with a non-existent space,29 and a real bargain at the North Pole.30 I’m pleased to announce that the winners of our Christmas competition this year are David Chapman and Cindy Thamrin, of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, for their insightful analysis of the impact of pyjamas on productivity while working at home during the pandemic.31 We thank all who sent submissions, and apologise we did not have room to publish more (there is always next year). All our entrants deserve a slice of John Fox’s double whisky cake!32 It has been a fascinating five years serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the MJA, but none has been more challenging than 2020. At the Journal, we look forward to the New Year with hope and enthusiasm. We sincerely thank all our expert peer reviewers (listed on pages 487–488) — particularly those who have humoured our numerous pleas for rapid review of COVID-19-related manuscripts — as well as our authors, readers, and the distinguished members of the Editorial Advisory Committee for your contributions this year. All of us at the MJA wish everyone, and their families, a very happy and healthy holiday season! I thank the tireless efforts of the Editorial team throughout 2020, without which the quality and timely publication of our Journal in print and online would not be possible: our departing Head of Publishing Content, Lilia Kanna; our former Senior Deputy Medical Editor, Christine Gee; Deputy Medical Editors Francis Geronimo, Robyn Godding, Tania Janusic, Selina Lo, Wendy Morgan, Aajuli Shukla, and Zoë Silverstone; our Scientific and Structural Editors, Paul Foley, Graeme Prince, and Laura Teruel; our Consultant Biostatistician, Elmer Villanueva; our News and Online Editor, Cate Swannell; our Graphic Designer, Leilani Widya; and our Senior Publishing Coordinator, Kerrie Harding. A complete list of disclosures is available at https://www.mja.com.au/journal/staff/editor-chief-professor-nick-talley Not commissioned; not externally peer reviewed. The MJA Editorial Advisory Group members are eminent clinicians and scholars who are valuable sources of ideas for the content of the Journal. They provide constructive criticism of the format and content of the Journal, and provide independent advice to the MJA Editorial Committee on appeals of editorial decisions, problematic articles, and complaints about the editorial process. Anthony Capon Flavia M Cicuttini Paul B Colditz Jane Dacre Anne Duggan David A Ellwood Alex Farrell Peter G Gibson Marc Gladman Charles Guest Claire L Jackson Cheryl A Jones Zsuzsoka Kecskes Kelvin Kong José Florencio Fabella Lapeña, Jr. Christopher Levi Jennifer Martin Patrick D McGorry Catriona McLean Paul Moayyedi Peter L Munk Terry Nolan Ian N Olver Anushka Patel Wilfred Peh Toby Richards Susan Sawyer Jeong-Wook Seo Lambert W Schuwirth Joseph Sung Philip G Truskett Robyn Ward Steve Wesselingh Paul S Worley Catherine Yelland Neville D Yeomans Jeffrey Zajac Penelope A Abbott Julie Abimanyi-Ochom Sarah J Abrahamson Michael J Abramson Stephen P Ackland Barbara-Ann Adelstein Michael A Adena Robert G Adler Meera R Agar Kate E Ahmad Roman A Ahmed Robert J Aitken Rosemary Aldrich Charles S Algert Robert L Ali Sonia Allan Richard D M Allen Steve J Allsop Osvaldo P Almeida Lisa Amato Janaki Amin Michelle Ananda-Rajah Antoinette Anazodo Craig S Anderson David Andresen Miles C Andrews Anders Aneman Nicolas M Anstey Sanchia Aranda Bruce K Armstrong Bruce B Arnold Constantine N Aroney Peter Arrow Shalini Arunogiri Michael A Ashby Deborah A Askew Eugene Athan John J Atherton David N Atkinson John R Attia Philip E G Aylward Oyekoya T Ayonrinde Peter D Baade Tony Badrick Chris Baggoley Peter A Baghurst Michael Baigent Paul M Bailey Rob Baird Deborah F Baker Zsolt J Balogh Lilon G Bandler Rupa Banerjee Emily Banks Michael P Barbato Karen Barclay Ruth A Barker Amanda Barnard Elizabeth H Barnes Ian G Barr Harold Bartlett Michael B Barton Tarun Bastiampillai Bruce C Bastian Deborah J Bateson Robert G Batey Marijka Batterham Malcolm W Battersby Noel B Bayley Miles H Beaman Frank H Beard Kenneth Beath Andrea Z Beaton Alison Beauchamp Kerri Beckmann Justin J Beilby Sally J Bell Susan Benbow Jill Benson David I Ben-Tovim Roy G Beran Philip Bergman Martin Berry J H Nicholas Bett Peng Bi Craig M Bingham Marie M Bismark Renee Bittoun David J Blacker Tony Blakely Peter A Blombery R Warwick Blood Emily Blyth Felix Bochner Nikolai Bogduk Steven Bollipo Patrick G M Bolton Chelsea J Bond Billie Bonevski Michael A Bonning Yvonne Bonomo Craig S Boutlis Michelle Bovill Steven J Bowe Simon D Bowler Devin Bowles Steven C Boyages Frances M Boyle Sabine Braat Clare E Bradley George Braitberg Victoria Brazil Bruce J Brew David J Brewster Esther M Briganti Peter J Bristow Helena C Britt Philip N Britton Lawrence Brown Christian Bryant Nicholas A Buckley Michael D Buist Caroline Bulsara Jonathan G W Burdon Keith R Burgess Louise Burrell Colin D Butler Julie E Byles Daniel Byrne John F Cade Geoffrey D Cains J William F Cairns Ian D Cameron David G Campbell Ben J Canny Cecilia Cappelen-Smith Marion G Carey Anthony Carpenter Jonathan Carter Caroline Catt Antonio Celenza Branko Celler Alex J Chamberlain Albert K F Chan Jeremy R Chapman Patrick G P Charles Alex Chaudhuri Katherine Chen Tegan Cheng Abigail Cheung Derek P Chew HuiJun Chih Rebecca Chisholm James Y J Choi Christopher Y P Choong Clara K Chow Jonathan Christiansen Flavia M Cicuttini Paul J Clark Caroline F Clarke Timothy D Clay Kate Clezy Alan R Clough Penelope Coates Enrico W Coiera Paul B Colditz Justin J Coleman James Collett Peter J Collignon David M Colquhoun Luke B Connelly Mark Connor Matthew C Cook Celia M Cooper Michael D Coory Brian Coppin Stephen J Corbett Charles F Corke Christopher Coulter Steven G Coverdale Stephen Cox Meredith J Craigie Susanna Cramb Helen M Creasey Philip Crispin Leonard A Crocombe David B Cross Brendan Crotty Philip Crowley John Crozier Louise Cullen Robert G Cumming Peter J Cundy Joan Cunningham David Cunnington Jackie E Curtis Melville J Da Cruz Craig B Dalton E R David Dammery Mark D Daniell Mark Danta Mike Daube A James M Daveson Ian D Davis Andrew H Dawson Carolyn A Day Caroline M de Costa Nicholas H de Klerk Gregory M de Moore Adam Deane Peter Del Fante Anthony Delaney Clare Delany Michael C d'Emden Apo Demirkol Martine Dennekamp Gian Luca Di Tanna Hugh G Dickson Paul M Dietze George Dimitroulis Lisa Dive John B Dixon Timothy A Dobbins Annette J Dobson Gregory J Dore Ravindra Dotel Carol Douglas Jo A Douglass Jennifer A Doust John S Dowden Robert Dowsett Brian M Draper Tim R Driscoll Olaf H Drummer Michael J Dudley Gregory J Duncombe Stephen J Dunjey Adam Dunn David N Durrheim Dominic E Dwyer Mervyn J Eadie Kathy Eagar Peter R Ebeling David Eccleston Damon P Eisen James Elder Diann S Eley Pete M Ellis David A Ellwood Emad El-Omar Taku Endo Thomas Engelhardt Guy D Eslick Adrian J Esterman Christopher Etherton-Beer Daniel P Ewald Paul P Fahey Neal Fann Annabelle Farnsworth Michael Farrell Louise M Farrer Ahmad Farshid Daniel M Fatovich Steven G Faux John K Ferguson Jason A Ferris Mark J Ferson David W Firman Jane R W Fisher Robert A Fitridge Gerard J FitzGerald Arthas Flabouris John P Fletcher Leon Flicker Therese (Terri) M Foran Geoffrey M Forbes Brett H Forge Kirsty Forrest Joshua R Francis Peter Franklin Clare L Fraser Craig J French Kalman Fried Frank A Frizelle Lance A Gable Greg Gamble Robert C Gandy Lan Gao Karen Gardner Coral E Gartner Paul H Gavel Yash Gawarikar Andrew Georgiou Timothy J Geraghty Claudia Geue Tristan Gibbs Amy Gibson Gwendolyn L Gilbert Madeleine Gill Amanda K Gilligan Michael Gillman Rodney C Givney Paul P Glasziou Stacy K Goergen Michael S Gold Ivan Goldberg Sharon R Goldfeld David A Gonzalez-Chica Phillip D Good Emily H Gordon Alexandra S Gorelik Paul Gould Linda V Graudins Stephen R Graves Mark L Greenberg Trisha Greenhalgh Emily Gregory-Roberts Mathis Grossmann Luke E Grzeskowiak Hasantha Gunasekera Jenny E Gunton Himanshu Gupta Wendy E Hague Fiona A Haigh David M Hailey Bridget G Haire Krispin Hajkowicz Sally Hall Dykgraaf P Shane Hamblin Asadi Hamed Christian R Hamilton-Craig Christopher J K Hammett Graeme J Hankey Jenny Hargreaves Paul L Harper Ian A Harris Gunter F Hartel Mary Anne Hartley Kenneth J Harvey Melissa Haswell Andrew Hayen Russell Hays Philip L Hazell Christopher H Heath Peter Hebbard William F Heddle Dagmar Hedrich Allison Hempenstall Michael A Henderson Wayne M Herdy Alexander G Heriot Charlotte M Hespe Mark Hew Peter Hewett Sophie Hickey David R Hillman Sarah N Hilmer Neil J Hime Dana A Hince Pravin Hissaria John Hogden Andrew J A Holland Samantha A Hollingworth Alex Holmes Chris B Holmwood Gerald Holtmann Preben Homoe Robert L Horvath Mark E Howard Jennifer F Hoy Ruth E Hubbard Thomas J Hugh Lisa Hui Arnagretta Hunter Jonathan A Hyett Joseph E Ibrahim Susan Ieraci Warrick J Inder Wendy Ingman Geoffrey K Isbister Katherine Z Isoardi Kimberley D Ivory Claire L Jackson Peter A Jacoby Theresa Jacques Bin B Jalaludin Monika Janda Ollie Jay Gary P Jeffrey Michael J Jelinek Christine R Jenkins Charles G Jenkinson Awachana Jiamsakul Stephanie R Johnson Fay H Johnston Cheryl A Jones Louisa Jorm David J L Joske Johan D Jurgens Krishna M Karpe Peter Katelaris Judith M Katzenellenbogen David Kault Therese Kearns Zsuzsoka Kecskes Dorothy Keefe Nicholas A Keks Michaela Kelly Anne Kelso Gregory W Keogh Ross K Kerridge Hanan Khalil Ganessan Kichenadasse Kim Kiely Monique Kilkenny Samuel D Kim Greg G King Adrienne C Kirby Kenneth C Kirkby Stephen Kleid Timothy J Kleinig Bogda Koczwara Geoff Kohn John Kolbe Kairi Kolves Robert J Kosky Emma E Kowal Rita Krishnamurthi Leonard Kritharides Jeroen Kroon Paul A Kubler Susan E Kurrle Maarit Laaksonen Antony R A Lafferty Lewis Lam Stephen B Lambert Aleksandra Lange Matthew M Large Mark E Larsen M Roger Laurent David M Lawrence John A Lawson Karin Leder Christopher R Levi Miriam T Levy Wenbin Liang Belinda Liddell Richard I Lindley Matthew J Links J Miles Little Sidong Liu Serigne Lo Charles W Lott Jeanne Louw Michael Sze Yuan Low Michaela Lucas Guy L Ludbrook Sanja Lujic William (Bill) Lukin Eugenie R Lumbers Grant Luxton Reidar P Lystad Kristine Macartney Graeme A Macdonald Robert J MacInnis C. Raina MacIntyre Andrew I MacIsaac David A Mackey Finlay A Macrae Bill Madden Ann Maguire Sheryl Magzamen Neil Mahant Robert Mahar Peter K Maitz Donna B Mak Gin S Malhi Elizabeth Manias G Bruce Mann Haider R Mannan Louise J Maple-Brown Tania Markovic Guy B Marks Alexandra L Markwell John E Marley Helen S Marshall Jennifer H Martin Thomas H Marwick John S Mattick Ian A McAuley Kristin E McBain-Rigg Gabrielle McCallum David S McCutcheon Brett M McDermott Christine F McDonald Heather J McElroy Suzanne P McEvoy Alexander C McFarlane Richard McGee Neil W McGill Patrick D McGorry Matthew R McGrail Peter B McIntyre Diana R McKay Andrew McLachlan Mary-Louise McLaws Gemma McLeod Zoe K McQuilten Andrew Menzies-Gow Ella Meumann Peter Middleton Elasma Milanzi Jeremy L Millar David Mills Roger L Milne Andrew Ming David H Mitchell Paul Moayyedi Lucy J Modra David Molloy Michael Montalto A Rob Moodie David J Moore Kim L Moretti Susan J Morgan David Mountain Alison M Mudge Wendy Muircroft Peter L Munk Kevin Murray David J Muscatello John Myburgh Vasi Naganathan Balakrishnan (Kichu) R Nair Alison J Nankervis Justine M Naylor Lee Nedkoff Mark R Nelson James Neuberger Graham L Newstead Nhi Nguyen Gary Nicholls Marcus Nicol Suzanne Nielsen Olav B Nielssen Scott Nightingale Michael Nilsson Theo Niyonsenga Christopher J Nolan John B North Robert Norton Johannes Nossent Richard C O'Brien Dianne L O'Connell Maree O'Keefe Jane Oliver Catherine M Olsen Ian N Olver Susanne P O'Malley John W Orchard Neil R Orford Nicholas J Osborne Margaret F A Otlowski Bhavna Padhye Ellie Paige Pamela Palasanthiran Barbara Paldus Nirmala Pandeya Yin Paradies Elizabeth Paratz Stuart G Parker Jennifer S Parsons Andrew Partington Sant-Rayn Pasricha Mahomed S Patel Ron Paterson David P Peiris Jonathan Penm Matthew Peters Tunde Peto David Pilcher Angie N Pinto Edmund Poliness Michael Pollack C Dimity Pond Michael D E Potter David L Prior Susanna M Proudman Carolyn Quadrio Steve Quinn Prem Rashid William D Rawlinson Jennifer S Reath Andrew Redmond Susan J Rees Adrian Regli Karen Reynolds Handoo Rhee Bernadette J Richards Alice M Richardson Geoffrey J Riley Maureen Rischmueller Chris Roberts Andrew G Robertson Kurt C Roberts-Thomson David M Roder Leigh Roeger Benjmain Rogers Paul Rolan Daniel E Roos Alan Rosen Cliff Rosendahl Jeffrey V Rosenfeld Glynis P Ross Elizabeth E Roughead Deborah J Russell Christopher J Ryan Sabe Sabesan Jacinto Sánchez Ibáñez W Peter Saul Christobel M Saunders Rebecca B Saunderson Susan M Sawyer Andrea L Schaffer Stephan A Schug Rosalie Schultz Tracy Schumacher Ian A Scott David J Scrimgeour Paul A Scuffham Paul J Secombe Lisa M Sedger Linda A Selvey Tarun Sen Gupta Ian Seppelt Harshvardhan Sheorey Stephen P Shumack David J Siebert Hao-Wen Sim Karen N Simmer David Simmons Andrew H Singer Sankar N Sinha Freddy Sitas Anthony J Smith Jeanne Snelling Kathryn Snow John A Snowdon Tania C Sorrell Allan D Spigelman Tim Sprosen Geoffrey K Spurling Rosemary A Stanton Michael Stark Alexandre S Stephens Matthew Stevens Christopher E Stevenson Cameron L Stewart Nigel P Stocks Johannes U Stoelwinder Louise Stone David A. Story Roger P Strasser Phillip D Stricker Charles Su Shelby Sullivan Joseph J Y J Y Sung Tatiana Surzhina Stewart Sutherland Ashwin Swaminathan Melissa A Sweet Angela J Taft Helena J Teede Michelle M Telfer Cassandra L Thiel Mark G Thomas Geoffrey N Thompson Heather Thorne Dominic S Thyagarajan Mark L H Tie Nickolai Titov Anne L Tonkin Geoff D Toogood Michael J Toole Duncan J Topliss Adrienne J Torda David J Torpy Huy A Tran Jason A Trubiano Philip G Truskett Inese Tucker Sheila Turris Carolyn Unsworth Tim Usherwood William van Gaal Blesson Varghese Elmer V Villanueva Jennifer H Voeks Beverley Vollenhoven Ross Walker Garry Walter Darren L Walters Antony Walton William YS Wang Linda Ward Orli Wargon Morgyn Warner Stephen Warrillow Grant Waterer Anna Waterreus D Ashley R Watson David A K Watters Bruce P Waxman Susan M Wearne Matthew D Weaver Philip Weinstein Mark Wenitong Steven L Wesselingh Juanita L Westbury Robert J Whitbourn Ben P White Peter Whiteford David C Whiteman David J Whyatt Gordon S Whyte Alan J Wigg Kay A Wilhelm Irene J Wilkinson Susan Williams Andrew Wilson Ingrid Winship Hugh D Wolfenden Christopher Xin Jie Wong Henry H Woo Lisa J Wood Marion Woods Alistair J Woodward Ian J Woolley Paul Worley John Worthington Daniel L Worthley Michael Wright Jian Wu Rosemary Wyber Jun Yang Mark W Yates John W Yaxley Anusch Yazdani Bu Beng Yeap Catherine Yelland Jane M Young Kally Yuen Cameron Zachreson John R Zalcberg Sophie Zaloumis Sarah Zaman Christopher Zeitz Nikolajs Zeps Ying Zhang Yuejen Zhao John B Ziegler Nicholas A Zwar Anthony B Zwi
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