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Lukova A, Dunmore CJ, Bachmann S, Synek A, Pahr DH, Kivell TL, Skinner MM. Trabecular architecture of the distal femur in extant hominids. J Anat 2024; 245:156-180. [PMID: 38381116 PMCID: PMC11161831 DOI: 10.1111/joa.14026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Extant great apes are characterized by a wide range of locomotor, postural and manipulative behaviours that each require the limbs to be used in different ways. In addition to external bone morphology, comparative investigation of trabecular bone, which (re-)models to reflect loads incurred during life, can provide novel insights into bone functional adaptation. Here, we use canonical holistic morphometric analysis (cHMA) to analyse the trabecular morphology in the distal femoral epiphysis of Homo sapiens (n = 26), Gorilla gorilla (n = 14), Pan troglodytes (n = 15) and Pongo sp. (n = 9). We test two predictions: (1) that differing locomotor behaviours will be reflected in differing trabecular architecture of the distal femur across Homo, Pan, Gorilla and Pongo; (2) that trabecular architecture will significantly differ between male and female Gorilla due to their different levels of arboreality but not between male and female Pan or Homo based on previous studies of locomotor behaviours. Results indicate that trabecular architecture differs among extant great apes based on their locomotor repertoires. The relative bone volume and degree of anisotropy patterns found reflect habitual use of extended knee postures during bipedalism in Homo, and habitual use of flexed knee posture during terrestrial and arboreal locomotion in Pan and Gorilla. Trabecular architecture in Pongo is consistent with a highly mobile knee joint that may vary in posture from extension to full flexion. Within Gorilla, trabecular architecture suggests a different loading of knee in extension/flexion between females and males, but no sex differences were found in Pan or Homo, supporting our predictions. Inter- and intra-specific variation in trabecular architecture of distal femur provides a comparative context to interpret knee postures and, in turn, locomotor behaviours in fossil hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Lukova
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and ConservationUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
| | - Christopher J. Dunmore
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and ConservationUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
| | - Sebastian Bachmann
- Institute of Lightweight Design and Structural BiomechanicsTU WienWienAustria
| | - Alexander Synek
- Institute of Lightweight Design and Structural BiomechanicsTU WienWienAustria
| | - Dieter H. Pahr
- Institute of Lightweight Design and Structural BiomechanicsTU WienWienAustria
- Department of Anatomy and Biomechanics, Division BiomechanicsKarl Landsteiner University of Health SciencesKremsAustria
| | - Tracy L. Kivell
- Department of Human OriginsMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Matthew M. Skinner
- Department of Human OriginsMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
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Miller CK, DeSilva JM. A review of the distal femur in Australopithecus. Evol Anthropol 2024; 33:e22012. [PMID: 38009942 DOI: 10.1002/evan.22012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
In 1938, the first distal femur of a fossil Australopithecus was discovered at Sterkfontein, South Africa. A decade later, another distal femur was discovered at the same locality. These two fossil femora were the subject of a foundational paper authored by Kingsbury Heiple and Owen Lovejoy in 1971. In this paper, the authors discussed functionally relevant anatomies of these two fossil femora and noted their strong affinity to the modern human condition. Here, we update this work by including eight more fossil Australopithecus distal femora, an expanded comparative dataset, as well as additional linear measurements. Just as Heiple and Lovejoy reported a half-century ago, we find strong overlap between modern humans and cercopithecoids, except for inferiorly flattened condyles and a high bicondylar angle, both of which characterize modern humans and Australopithecus and are directly related to striding bipedalism. All other measured aspects of the femora are by-products of these key morphological traits. Additional fossil material from the early Pliocene will help to inform the evolution of the hominin distal femur and its condition in the Pan-Homo common ancestor that preceded bipedal locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine K Miller
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
- Ecology, Evolution, Ecosystems, and Society Graduate Program, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Jeremy M DeSilva
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Harper CM, Goldstein DM, Sylvester AD. Comparing and combining sliding semilandmarks and weighted spherical harmonics for shape analysis. J Anat 2022; 240:678-687. [PMID: 34747020 PMCID: PMC8930823 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2021] [Revised: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Quantifying morphological variation is critical for conducting anatomical research. Three-dimensional geometric morphometric (3D GM) landmark analyses quantify shape using homologous Cartesian coordinates (landmarks). Setting up a high-density landmark set and placing it on all specimens, however, can be a time-consuming task. Weighted spherical harmonics (SPHARM) provides an alternative method for analyzing the shape of such objects. Here we compare sliding semilandmark and SPHARM analyses of the calcaneus of Gorilla gorilla gorilla (n = 20), Pan troglodytes troglodytes (n = 20), and Homo sapiens (n = 20) to determine whether the SPHARM and sliding semilandmark analyses capture comparable levels of shape variation. We also compare both the sliding semilandmark and SPHARM analyses to a novel combination of the two methods, here termed SPHARM-sliding. In SPHARM-sliding, the vertices of the surface models produced from the SPHARM analysis (that are the same in number and relative location) are used as the starting landmark positions for a sliding semilandmark analysis. Calcaneal shape variation quantified by all three analyses was summarized using separate principal components analyses. Results were compared using the root mean square (RMS) and maximum distance between surface models of species averages scaled (up) to centroid size created from each analysis. The average RMS was 0.23 mm between sliding semilandmark and SPHARM average surface models, 0.19 mm between SPHARM and SPHARM sliding average surface models, and 0.22 mm between sliding semilandmark and SPHARM sliding average surface models. Although results indicate that all three analyses are comparable methods for 3D shape analysis, there are advantages and disadvantages to each. While the SPHARM analysis is less time-intensive, it is unable to capture the same level of detail around the sharp edges of articular facets on average surface models as the sliding semilandmark analysis. The SPHARM analysis also does not allow for individual articular facets to be analyzed in isolation. SPHARM-sliding, however, captures the same level of detail as the sliding semilandmark analysis, and (as in the sliding semilandmark analysis) allows for the evaluation of individual portions of bone. SPHARM is a comparable method to a 3D GM analysis for small, irregularly shaped bones, such as the calcaneus, and SPHARM-sliding allows for an expedited set up process for a sliding semilandmark analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine M. Harper
- Department of Biomedical SciencesCooper Medical School of Rowan UniversityCamdenNew JerseyUSA
- Center for Functional Anatomy and EvolutionThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Deanna M. Goldstein
- Center for Functional Anatomy and EvolutionThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Adam D. Sylvester
- Center for Functional Anatomy and EvolutionThe Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
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Zelazny KG, Sylvester AD, Ruff CB. Bilateral asymmetry and developmental plasticity of the humerus in modern humans. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 174:418-433. [PMID: 33460465 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 11/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study investigates bilateral asymmetry in the humerus of modern human populations with differing activity patterns to assess the relative plasticity of different bone regions in response to environmental influences, particularly the biomechanical demands of handedness. METHODS External breadths, cross-sectional properties, and centroid sizes were used to quantify directional and absolute asymmetry of humeral diaphyseal, distal periarticular, and articular regions in six populations with differing subsistence strategies (total n = 244). Geometric section properties were measured using computed tomography at six locations along the distal humerus, while centroid sizes of the distal articular and periarticular regions, as well as eight segments of the diaphysis, were extracted from external landmark data. Bilateral asymmetries were compared between populations and sexes. Each property was also tested for correlation with bilateral asymmetry at 40% of bone length, which has been shown to correlate with handedness. RESULTS Asymmetry is highest in the diaphysis, but significant through all distal bone regions. Asymmetry increases in the region of the deltoid tuberosity, and progressively declines distally through the shaft and distal periarticular region. Articular asymmetry is higher than periarticular asymmetry, approaching levels seen just proximal to the olecranon fossa, and is weakly but significantly correlated with diaphyseal asymmetry. Hunter-gatherers from Indian Knoll have significantly higher levels of asymmetry than other groups and are more sexually dimorphic, particularly in cross-sectional properties of the diaphysis. CONCLUSIONS Humeral dimensions throughout the diaphysis, including regions currently used in taxonomic assignments of fossil hominins, likely respond to in vivo use, including population and sex-specific behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaya G Zelazny
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Adam D Sylvester
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Christopher B Ruff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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Hassan MG, Kaler H, Zhang B, Cox TC, Young N, Jheon AH. Effects of Multi-Generational Soft Diet Consumption on Mouse Craniofacial Morphology. Front Physiol 2020; 11:783. [PMID: 32754047 PMCID: PMC7367031 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Variations in craniofacial morphology may arise as a result of adaptation to different environmental factors such as soft diet (SD), which lessens functional masticatory load. Prior studies have shown that changes in the masticatory muscle function associated with a switch to short-term SD led to changes in craniofacial morphology and alveolar bone architecture. However, the long-term effects of SD and the associated adaptive changes in craniofacial shape are unclear. Our novel study set out to profile prospective skull changes in mice fed with SDs over multiple generations using three-dimensional (3D) geometric morphometric analysis (GMA). Our results revealed that short-term SD consumption led to a significant decrease in craniofacial size, along with numerous shape changes. Long-term SD consumption over 15 continuous generations was not associated with changes in craniofacial size; however, shape analysis revealed mice with shortened crania and mandibles in the anteroposterior dimension, as well as relative widening in the transverse dimension compared to the average shape of all mice analyzed in our study. Moreover, changes in shape and size associated with different functional loads appeared to be independent - shape changes persisted after diets were switched for one generation, whereas size decreased after one generation and then returned to baseline size. Our study is the first to study the role of prolonged, multi-generational SD consumption in the determination of craniofacial size and shape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed G. Hassan
- Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt
- Program in Craniofacial Biology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Harjot Kaler
- Program in Craniofacial Biology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Bin Zhang
- Program in Craniofacial Biology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Timothy C. Cox
- Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Nathan Young
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Andrew H. Jheon
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Divisions of Craniofacial Anomalies and Orthodontics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
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Sukhdeo S, Parsons J, Niu XM, Ryan TM. Trabecular Bone Structure in the Distal Femur of Humans, Apes, and Baboons. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2018; 303:129-149. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.24050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2018] [Revised: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 08/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Simone Sukhdeo
- Department of AnthropologyPennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania
| | - Jacob Parsons
- Department of StatisticsPennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania
| | - Xiaoyue Maggie Niu
- Department of StatisticsPennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania
| | - Timothy M. Ryan
- Department of AnthropologyPennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania
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Abstract
The dispersal of the genus Homo out of Africa approximately 1.8 million years ago (Ma) has been understood within the context of changes in diet, behavior, and bipedal locomotor efficiency. While various morphological characteristics of the knee and ankle joints are considered part of a suite of traits indicative of, and functionally related to, habitual bipedal walking, the timing and phylogenetic details of these morphological changes remain unclear. To evaluate the timing of knee and ankle joint evolution, we apply geometric morphometric methods to three-dimensional digital models of the proximal and distal tibiae of fossil hominins, Holocene Homo sapiens, and extant great apes. Two sets of landmarks and curve semilandmarks were defined on each specimen. Because some fossils were incomplete, digital reconstructions were carried out independently to estimate missing landmarks and semilandmarks. Group shape variation was evaluated through shape-and form-space principal component analysis and fossil specimens were projected to assess variation in the morphological space computed from the extant comparative sample. We show that a derived proximal tibia (knee) similar to that seen in living H. sapiens evolved with early Homo at ∼2 Ma. In contrast, derived characteristics in the distal tibia appear later, probably with the arrival of Homo erectus. These results suggest a dissociation of the morphologies of the proximal and distal tibia, perhaps indicative of divergent functional demands and, consequently, selective pressures at these joints. It appears that longer distance dispersals that delivered the Dmanisi hominins to Georgia by 1.8 Ma and H. erectus to east-southeast Asia by 1.6 Ma were facilitated by the evolution of a morphologically derived knee complex comparable to that of recent humans and an ankle that was morphologically primitive. This research sets the foundation for additional paleontological, developmental, and functional research to better understand the mechanisms underlying the evolution of bipedalism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélanie A Frelat
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy; UMR 7268 ADES, Aix-Marseille Université/EFS/CNRS, Marseille, France.
| | - Colin N Shaw
- PAVE Research Group, Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Cambridge BioTomography Centre, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Simone Sukhdeo
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Timothy M Ryan
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA; Center for Quantitative Imaging, EMS Energy Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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Sylvester AD, Terhune CE. Trabecular mapping: Leveraging geometric morphometrics for analyses of trabecular structure. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 163:553-569. [PMID: 28432829 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2016] [Revised: 04/04/2017] [Accepted: 04/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Trabecular microstructure of limb bone epiphyses has been used to elucidate the relationship between skeletal form and behavior among mammals. Such studies have often relied on the analysis of a single volume of interest (VOI). Here we present a method for evaluating variation in bone microstructure across articular surfaces by leveraging sliding semilandmarks. METHODS Two samples were used to demonstrate the proposed methodology and test the hypothesis that microstructural variables are homogeneously distributed: tali from two ape genera (Pan and Pongo, n = 9) and modern human distal femora (n = 10). Sliding semilandmarks were distributed across articular surfaces and used to locate the position of multiple VOIs immediately deep to the cortical shell. Trabecular bone properties were quantified using the BoneJ plugin for ImageJ. Nonparametric MANOVA tests were used to make group comparisons and differences were explored using principal components analysis and visualized using color maps. RESULTS Tests reveal that trabecular parameters are not distributed homogeneously and identify differences between chimpanzee and orangutan tali with regards to trabecular spacing and degree of anisotropy, with chimpanzee tali being more anisotropic and having more uniformly spaced trabeculae. Human males and females differed in the pattern of trabecular spacing with males having more uniform trabecular spacing across the joint surface. CONCLUSIONS The proposed procedure quantifies variation in trabecular bone parameters across joint surfaces and allows for meaningful statistical comparisons between groups of interest. Consequently it holds promise to help elucidate links between trabecular bone structure and animal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam D Sylvester
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Claire E Terhune
- Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
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Laitman JT, Albertine KH. The Anatomical Record by the numbers: seeing anatomy through the lens of mathematics and geometry. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2014; 298:1-2. [PMID: 25529236 DOI: 10.1002/ar.23077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2014] [Accepted: 10/16/2014] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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Curran SC. ExploringEucladocerosEcomorphology Using Geometric Morphometrics. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2014; 298:291-313. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.23066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2014] [Accepted: 10/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina C. Curran
- Ohio University; Department of Sociology and Anthropology; Athens OH 45701
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Almécija S, Orr CM, Tocheri MW, Patel BA, Jungers WL. Exploring Phylogenetic and Functional Signals in Complex Morphologies: The Hamate of Extant Anthropoids as a Test-Case Study. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2014; 298:212-29. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.23079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2014] [Accepted: 10/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Almécija
- Department of Anatomical Sciences; Stony Brook University School of Medicine; Stony Brook New York
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Edifici Z (ICTA-ICP), campus de la UAB, c/ de les Columnes, s/n., 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès Barcelona Spain
- NYCEP Morphometrics Group
| | - Caley M. Orr
- Department of Anatomy; Midwestern University; Downers Grove Illinois
| | - Matthew W. Tocheri
- Human Origins Program, Department of Anthropology; National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution; 10th and Constitution Avenue NW Washington DC
- Department of Anthropology; Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology, The George Washington University; Washington DC
| | - Biren A. Patel
- Cell and Neurobiology; Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California; Los Angeles California
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California; Los Angeles California
| | - William L. Jungers
- Department of Anatomical Sciences; Stony Brook University School of Medicine; Stony Brook New York
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