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Gupta AK, Maier S, Thapa B, Raghavachari K. Toward Post-Hartree-Fock Accuracy for Protein-Ligand Affinities Using the Molecules-in-Molecules Fragmentation-Based Method. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:2774-2785. [PMID: 38530869 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c01293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
The complexity and size of large molecular systems, such as protein-ligand complexes, pose computational challenges for accurate post-Hartree-Fock calculations. This study delivers a thorough benchmarking of the Molecules-in-Molecules (MIM) method, presenting a clear and accessible strategy for layer/theory selections in post-Hartree-Fock computations on substantial molecular systems, notably protein-ligand complexes. An approach is articulated, enabling augmented computational efficiency by strategically canceling out common subsystem energy terms between complexes and proteins within the supermolecular equation. Employing DLPNO-based post-Hartree-Fock methods in conjunction with the three-layer MIM method (MIM3), this study demonstrates the achievement of protein-ligand binding energies with remarkable accuracy (errors <1 kcal mol-1), while significantly reducing computational costs. Furthermore, noteworthy correlations between theoretically computed interaction energies and their experimental equivalents were observed, with R2 values of approximately 0.90 and 0.78 for CDK2 and BZT-ITK sets, respectively, thus validating the efficacy of the MIM method in calculating binding energies. By highlighting the crucial role of diffuse or small Pople-style basis sets in the middle layer for reducing energy errors, this work provides valuable insights and practical methodologies for interaction energy computations in large molecular complexes and opens avenues for their application across a diverse range of molecular systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankur K Gupta
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, United States
| | - Sarah Maier
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, United States
| | - Bishnu Thapa
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, United States
| | - Krishnan Raghavachari
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, United States
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Yuan Z, Chen X, Fan S, Chang L, Chu L, Zhang Y, Wang J, Li S, Xie J, Hu J, Miao R, Zhu L, Zhao Z, Li H, Li S. Binding Free Energy Calculation Based on the Fragment Molecular Orbital Method and Its Application in Designing Novel SHP-2 Allosteric Inhibitors. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:671. [PMID: 38203841 PMCID: PMC10779950 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25010671] [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: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The accurate prediction of binding free energy is a major challenge in structure-based drug design. Quantum mechanics (QM)-based approaches show promising potential in predicting ligand-protein binding affinity by accurately describing the behavior and structure of electrons. However, traditional QM calculations face computational limitations, hindering their practical application in drug design. Nevertheless, the fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method has gained widespread application in drug design due to its ability to reduce computational costs and achieve efficient ab initio QM calculations. Although the FMO method has demonstrated its reliability in calculating the gas phase potential energy, the binding of proteins and ligands also involves other contributing energy terms, such as solvent effects, the 'deformation energy' of a ligand's bioactive conformations, and entropy. Particularly in cases involving ionized fragments, the calculation of solvation free energy becomes particularly crucial. We conducted an evaluation of some previously reported implicit solvent methods on the same data set to assess their potential for improving the performance of the FMO method. Herein, we develop a new QM-based binding free energy calculation method called FMOScore, which enhances the performance of the FMO method. The FMOScore method incorporates linear fitting of various terms, including gas-phase potential energy, deformation energy, and solvation free energy. Compared to other widely used traditional prediction methods such as FEP+, MM/PBSA, MM/GBSA, and Autodock vina, FMOScore showed good performance in prediction accuracies. By constructing a retrospective case study, it was observed that incorporating calculations for solvation free energy and deformation energy can further enhance the precision of FMO predictions for binding affinity. Furthermore, using FMOScore-guided lead optimization against Src homology-2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP-2), we discovered a novel and potent allosteric SHP-2 inhibitor (compound 8).
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Yuan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Xingyu Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Sisi Fan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Longfeng Chang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Linna Chu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Ying Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Jie Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Shuang Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Jinxin Xie
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Jianguo Hu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Runyu Miao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Lili Zhu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Zhenjiang Zhao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
| | - Honglin Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
- Innovation Center for AI and Drug Discovery, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
- Lingang Laboratory, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Shiliang Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; (Z.Y.); (X.C.); (S.F.); (Z.Z.)
- Innovation Center for AI and Drug Discovery, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
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3
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Fedorov DG. Parametrized quantum-mechanical approaches combined with the fragment molecular orbital method. J Chem Phys 2022; 157:231001. [PMID: 36550057 DOI: 10.1063/5.0131256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Fast parameterized methods such as density-functional tight-binding (DFTB) facilitate realistic calculations of large molecular systems, which can be accelerated by the fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method. Fragmentation facilitates interaction analyses between functional parts of molecular systems. In addition to DFTB, other parameterized methods combined with FMO are also described. Applications of FMO methods to biochemical and inorganic systems are reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitri G Fedorov
- Research Center for Computational Design of Advanced Functional Materials (CD-FMat), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 2, Umezono 1-1-1, Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan
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Lai EPC, Li C. Actinide Decorporation: A Review on Chelation Chemistry and Nanocarriers for Pulmonary Administration. Radiat Res 2022; 198:430-443. [PMID: 35943882 DOI: 10.1667/rade-21-00004.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Chelation is considered the best method for detoxification by promoting excretion of actinides (Am, Np, Pu, Th, U) from the human body after internal contamination. Chemical agents that possess carboxylic acid or hydroxypyridinonate groups play a vital role in actinide decorporation. In this review article, we provide considerable background details on the chelation chemistry of actinides with an aim to formulate better decorporation agents. Nanocarriers for pulmonary delivery represent an exciting prospect in the development of novel therapies for actinide decorporation that both reduce toxic side effects of the agent and improve its retention in the body. Recent studies have demonstrated the benefits of using a nebulizer or an inhaler to administer chelating agents for the decorporation of actinides. Effective chelation therapy with large groups of internally contaminated people can be a challenge unless both the agent and the nanocarrier are readily available from strategic national stockpiles for radiological or nuclear emergencies. Sunflower lecithin is particularly adept at alleviating the burden of administration when used to form liposomes as a nanocarrier for pulmonary delivery of diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid (DTPA) or hydroxypyridinone (HOPO). Better physiologically-based pharmacokinetic models must be developed for each agent in order to minimize the frequency of multiple doses that can overload the emergency response operations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward P C Lai
- Ottawa-Carleton Chemistry Institute, Department of Chemistry, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - Chunsheng Li
- Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 1C1, Canada
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Fukuzawa K, Tanaka S. Fragment molecular orbital calculations for biomolecules. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2021; 72:127-134. [PMID: 34656048 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2021.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Exploring biomolecule behavior, such as proteins and nucleic acids, using quantum mechanical theory can identify many life science phenomena from first principles. Fragment molecular orbital (FMO) calculations of whole single particles of biomolecules can determine the electronic state of the interior and surface of molecules and explore molecular recognition mechanisms based on intermolecular and intramolecular interactions. In this review, we summarized the current state of FMO calculations in drug discovery, virology, and structural biology, as well as recent developments from data science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaori Fukuzawa
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, 2-4-41 Ebara, Shinagawa, Tokyo, 142-8501, Japan; Department of Biomolecular Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-11 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8579, Japan.
| | - Shigenori Tanaka
- Graduate School of System Informatics, Department of Computational Science, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada-ku, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan
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King E, Aitchison E, Li H, Luo R. Recent Developments in Free Energy Calculations for Drug Discovery. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:712085. [PMID: 34458321 PMCID: PMC8387144 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.712085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The grand challenge in structure-based drug design is achieving accurate prediction of binding free energies. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations enable modeling of conformational changes critical to the binding process, leading to calculation of thermodynamic quantities involved in estimation of binding affinities. With recent advancements in computing capability and predictive accuracy, MD based virtual screening has progressed from the domain of theoretical attempts to real application in drug development. Approaches including the Molecular Mechanics Poisson Boltzmann Surface Area (MM-PBSA), Linear Interaction Energy (LIE), and alchemical methods have been broadly applied to model molecular recognition for drug discovery and lead optimization. Here we review the varied methodology of these approaches, developments enhancing simulation efficiency and reliability, remaining challenges hindering predictive performance, and applications to problems in the fields of medicine and biochemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward King
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Erick Aitchison
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Han Li
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Ray Luo
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States
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Deb I, Wong H, Tacubao C, Frank AT. Quantum Mechanics Helps Uncover Atypical Recognition Features in the Flavin Mononucleotide Riboswitch. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:8342-8350. [PMID: 34310879 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c02702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Estimating the binding energies of small molecules to RNA could help uncover their molecular recognition characteristics and be used to rationally design RNA-targeting chemical probes. Here, we leveraged the ability of the fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method to provide detailed pairwise energetic information to examine the interactions between the aptamer domain of the flavin mononucleotide (FMN)-responsive riboswitch and small-molecule ligands. After developing an efficient protocol for executing high-level FMO calculations on RNA-ligand complexes, we applied our protocol to nine FMN-aptamer-ligand complexes. We then used the results to identify "hot-spots" within the aptamer and decomposed pairwise interactions between the hot-spot residues and the ligands. Interestingly, we found that several of these hot-spot residues interact with the ligands via atypical CH···O hydrogen bonds and anion-π contacts, as well as (face-to-edge) T-shaped π-π interactions. We envision that our results should pave the way for the wider and more prominent use of FMO calculations to study structure-energy relationships in diverse RNA-ligand systems, which in turn may provide a basis for dissecting the molecular recognition characteristics of RNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indrajit Deb
- Biophysics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Hazel Wong
- Biophysics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Colleen Tacubao
- Biophysics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Aaron T Frank
- Biophysics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States.,Chemistry Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
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Hirano Y, Okimoto N, Fujita S, Taiji M. Molecular Dynamics Study of Conformational Changes of Tankyrase 2 Binding Subsites upon Ligand Binding. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:17609-17620. [PMID: 34278146 PMCID: PMC8280666 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c02159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The interactions between proteins and ligands are involved in various biological functions. While experimental structures provide key static structural information of ligand-unbound and ligand-bound proteins, dynamic information is often insufficient for understanding the detailed mechanism of protein-ligand binding. Here, we studied the conformational changes of the tankyrase 2 binding pocket upon ligand binding using molecular dynamics simulations of the ligand-unbound and ligand-bound proteins. The ligand-binding pocket has two subsites: the nicotinamide and adenosine subsite. Comparative analysis of these molecular dynamics trajectories revealed that the conformational change of the ligand-binding pocket was characterized by four distinct conformations of the ligand-binding pocket. Two of the four conformations were observed only in molecular dynamics simulations. We found that the pocket conformational change on ligand binding was based on the connection between the nicotinamide and adenosine subsites that are located adjacently in the pocket. From the analysis, we proposed the protein-ligand binding mechanism of tankyrase 2. Finally, we discussed the computational prediction of the ligand binding pose using the tankyrase 2 structures obtained from the molecular dynamics simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshinori Hirano
- Laboratory
for Computational Molecular Design and Drug Discovery Molecular Simulation
Platform Unit, RIKEN Center for Biosystems
Dynamics Research (BDR), 6-2-4 Furuedai, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan
| | - Noriaki Okimoto
- Laboratory
for Computational Molecular Design and Drug Discovery Molecular Simulation
Platform Unit, RIKEN Center for Biosystems
Dynamics Research (BDR), 6-2-4 Furuedai, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan
| | - Shigeo Fujita
- Laboratory
for Computational Molecular Design and Drug Discovery Molecular Simulation
Platform Unit, RIKEN Center for Biosystems
Dynamics Research (BDR), 6-2-4 Furuedai, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan
| | - Makoto Taiji
- Laboratory
for Computational Molecular Design and Drug Discovery Molecular Simulation
Platform Unit, RIKEN Center for Biosystems
Dynamics Research (BDR), 6-2-4 Furuedai, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan
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9
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Abstract
This chapter describes the current status of development of the fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method for analyzing the electronic state and intermolecular interactions of biomolecular systems in solvent. The orbital energies and the inter-fragment interaction energies (IFIEs) for a specific molecular structure can be obtained directly by performing FMO calculations by exposing water molecules and counterions around biomolecular systems. Then, it is necessary to pay attention to the thickness of the water shell surrounding the biomolecules. The single-point calculation for snapshots from MD trajectory does not incorporate the effects of temperature and configurational fluctuation, but the SCIFIE (statistically corrected IFIE) method is proposed as a many-body correlated method that partially compensates for this deficiency. Furthermore, implicit continuous dielectric models have been developed as effective approaches to incorporating the screening effect of the solvent in thermal equilibrium, and we illustrate their usefulness for theoretical evaluation of IFIEs and ligand-binding free energy on the basis of the FMO-PBSA (Poisson-Boltzmann surface area) method and other computational methods.
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Watanabe C, Watanabe H, Okiyama Y, Takaya D, Fukuzawa K, Tanaka S, Honma T. Development of an automated fragment molecular orbital (FMO) calculation protocol toward construction of quantum mechanical calculation database for large biomolecules . CHEM-BIO INFORMATICS JOURNAL 2019. [DOI: 10.1273/cbij.19.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Hirofumi Watanabe
- Education Center on Computational Science and Engineering, Kobe University
| | - Yoshio Okiyama
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, RIKEN
- National Institute of Health Sciences
| | | | - Kaori Fukuzawa
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, RIKEN
- Department of Physical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University
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Fedorov DG. Analysis of solute-solvent interactions using the solvation model density combined with the fragment molecular orbital method. Chem Phys Lett 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2018.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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