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Mota CMD, Madden CJ. Neural circuits of long-term thermoregulatory adaptations to cold temperatures and metabolic demands. Nat Rev Neurosci 2024; 25:143-158. [PMID: 38316956 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-023-00785-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
The mammalian brain controls heat generation and heat loss mechanisms that regulate body temperature and energy metabolism. Thermoeffectors include brown adipose tissue, cutaneous blood flow and skeletal muscle, and metabolic energy sources include white adipose tissue. Neural and metabolic pathways modulating the activity and functional plasticity of these mechanisms contribute not only to the optimization of function during acute challenges, such as ambient temperature changes, infection and stress, but also to longitudinal adaptations to environmental and internal changes. Exposure of humans to repeated and seasonal cold ambient conditions leads to adaptations in thermoeffectors such as habituation of cutaneous vasoconstriction and shivering. In animals that undergo hibernation and torpor, neurally regulated metabolic and thermoregulatory adaptations enable survival during periods of significant reduction in metabolic rate. In addition, changes in diet can activate accessory neural pathways that alter thermoeffector activity. This knowledge may be harnessed for therapeutic purposes, including treatments for obesity and improved means of therapeutic hypothermia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clarissa M D Mota
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Christopher J Madden
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
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2
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Nedergaard J, von Essen G, Cannon B. Brown adipose tissue: can it keep us slim? A discussion of the evidence for and against the existence of diet-induced thermogenesis in mice and men. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220220. [PMID: 37661736 PMCID: PMC10475870 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The issue under discussion here is whether a decrease in the degree of UCP1 activity (and brown adipose tissue activity in general) could be a cause of obesity in humans. This possibility principally requires the existence of the phenomenon of diet-induced thermogenesis. Obesity could be a consequence of a reduced functionality of diet-induced thermogenesis. Experiments in mice indicate that diet-induced thermogenesis exists and is dependent on the presence of UCP1 and thus of brown adipose tissue activity. Accordingly, many (but not all) experiments indicate that in the absence of UCP1, mice become obese. Whether similar mechanisms exist in humans is still unknown. A series of studies have indicated a correlation between obesity and low brown adipose tissue activity, but it may be so that the obesity itself may influence the estimates of brown adipose tissue activity (generally glucose uptake), partly explaining the relationship. Estimates of brown adipose tissue catabolizing activity would seem to indicate that it may possess a capacity sufficient to help maintain body weight, and obesity would thus be aggravated in its absence. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Causes of obesity: theories, conjectures and evidence (Part II)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Nedergaard
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gabriella von Essen
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Barbara Cannon
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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3
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Niclou A, Sarma M, Levy S, Ocobock C. To the extreme! How biological anthropology can inform exercise physiology in extreme environments. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2023; 284:111476. [PMID: 37423419 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.111476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
The fields of biological anthropology and exercise physiology are closely related and can provide mutually beneficial insights into human performance. These fields often use similar methods and are both interested in how humans function, perform, and respond in extreme environments. However, these two fields have different perspectives, ask different questions, and work within different theoretical frameworks and timescales. Biological anthropologists and exercise physiologists can greatly benefit from working together when examining human adaptation, acclimatization, and athletic performance in the extremes of heat, cold, and high-altitude. Here we review the adaptations and acclimatizations in these three different extreme environments. We then examine how this work has informed and built upon exercise physiology research on human performance. Finally, we present an agenda for moving forward, hopefully, with these two fields working more closely together to produce innovative research that improves our holistic understanding of human performance capacities informed by evolutionary theory, modern human acclimatization, and the desire to produce immediate and direct benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Niclou
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, United States of America. https://twitter.com/fiat_luxandra
| | - Mallika Sarma
- Human Space Flight Lab, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States of America. https://twitter.com/skyy_mal
| | - Stephanie Levy
- Department of Anthropology, CUNY Hunter College, New York, NY, United States of America; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, United States of America. https://twitter.com/slevyscience
| | - Cara Ocobock
- University of Notre Dame Department of Anthropology, Notre Dame, IN, United States of America; Eck Institute for Global Health, Institute for Educational Initiatives, University of Notre Dame, United States of America.
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4
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Hoffmann A, Ebert T, Hankir MK, Flehmig G, Klöting N, Jessnitzer B, Lössner U, Stumvoll M, Blüher M, Fasshauer M, Tönjes A, Miehle K, Kralisch S. Leptin Improves Parameters of Brown Adipose Tissue Thermogenesis in Lipodystrophic Mice. Nutrients 2021; 13:2499. [PMID: 34444659 PMCID: PMC8399124 DOI: 10.3390/nu13082499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 07/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Lipodystrophy syndromes (LD) are a heterogeneous group of very rare congenital or acquired disorders characterized by a generalized or partial lack of adipose tissue. They are strongly associated with severe metabolic dysfunction due to ectopic fat accumulation in the liver and other organs and the dysregulation of several key adipokines, including leptin. Treatment with leptin or its analogues is therefore sufficient to reverse some of the metabolic symptoms of LD in patients and in mouse models through distinct mechanisms. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis has emerged as an important regulator of systemic metabolism in rodents and in humans, but it is poorly understood how leptin impacts BAT in LD. Here, we show in transgenic C57Bl/6 mice overexpressing sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c in adipose tissue (Tg (aP2-nSREBP1c)), an established model of congenital LD, that daily subcutaneous administration of 3 mg/kg leptin for 6 to 8 weeks increases body temperature without affecting food intake or body weight. This is associated with increased protein expression of the thermogenic molecule uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) and the sympathetic nerve marker tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in BAT. These findings suggest that leptin treatment in LD stimulates BAT thermogenesis through sympathetic nerves, which might contribute to some of its metabolic benefits by providing a healthy reservoir for excess circulating nutrients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annett Hoffmann
- Medical Department III-Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; (T.E.); (G.F.); (B.J.); (U.L.); (M.S.); (M.B.); (A.T.); (K.M.); (S.K.)
- Department of General, Visceral, Transplant, Vascular and Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany;
| | - Thomas Ebert
- Medical Department III-Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; (T.E.); (G.F.); (B.J.); (U.L.); (M.S.); (M.B.); (A.T.); (K.M.); (S.K.)
- Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Solna, Sweden
| | - Mohammed K. Hankir
- Department of General, Visceral, Transplant, Vascular and Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany;
| | - Gesine Flehmig
- Medical Department III-Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; (T.E.); (G.F.); (B.J.); (U.L.); (M.S.); (M.B.); (A.T.); (K.M.); (S.K.)
| | - Nora Klöting
- Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG) of the Helmholtz Zentrum München at the University of Leipzig, 04109 Leipzig, Germany;
| | - Beate Jessnitzer
- Medical Department III-Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; (T.E.); (G.F.); (B.J.); (U.L.); (M.S.); (M.B.); (A.T.); (K.M.); (S.K.)
| | - Ulrike Lössner
- Medical Department III-Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; (T.E.); (G.F.); (B.J.); (U.L.); (M.S.); (M.B.); (A.T.); (K.M.); (S.K.)
| | - Michael Stumvoll
- Medical Department III-Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; (T.E.); (G.F.); (B.J.); (U.L.); (M.S.); (M.B.); (A.T.); (K.M.); (S.K.)
| | - Matthias Blüher
- Medical Department III-Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; (T.E.); (G.F.); (B.J.); (U.L.); (M.S.); (M.B.); (A.T.); (K.M.); (S.K.)
- Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG) of the Helmholtz Zentrum München at the University of Leipzig, 04109 Leipzig, Germany;
| | - Mathias Fasshauer
- Institute of Nutritional Science, Justus-Liebig-University, 35390 Giessen, Germany;
| | - Anke Tönjes
- Medical Department III-Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; (T.E.); (G.F.); (B.J.); (U.L.); (M.S.); (M.B.); (A.T.); (K.M.); (S.K.)
| | - Konstanze Miehle
- Medical Department III-Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; (T.E.); (G.F.); (B.J.); (U.L.); (M.S.); (M.B.); (A.T.); (K.M.); (S.K.)
| | - Susan Kralisch
- Medical Department III-Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; (T.E.); (G.F.); (B.J.); (U.L.); (M.S.); (M.B.); (A.T.); (K.M.); (S.K.)
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5
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Sanchez-Delgado G, Martinez-Tellez B, Acosta FM, Virtue S, Vidal-Puig A, Gil A, Llamas-Elvira JM, Ruiz JR. Brown Adipose Tissue Volume and Fat Content Are Positively Associated With Whole-Body Adiposity in Young Men-Not in Women. Diabetes 2021; 70:1473-1485. [PMID: 33858825 DOI: 10.2337/db21-0011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Human brown adipose tissue (BAT) volume has consistently been claimed to be inversely associated with whole-body adiposity. However, recent advances in the assessment of human BAT suggest that previously reported associations may have been biased. The present cross-sectional study investigates the association of BAT volume, mean radiodensity, and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake (assessed via a static positron emission tomography [PET]-computed tomography [CT] scan after a 2-h personalized cold exposure) with whole-body adiposity (measured by DXA) in 126 young adults (42 men and 84 women; mean ± SD BMI 24.9 ± 4.7 kg/m2). BAT volume, but not 18F-FDG uptake, was positively associated with BMI, fat mass, and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mass in men but not in women. These associations were independent of the date when the PET-CT was performed, insulin sensitivity, and body surface area. BAT mean radiodensity, an inverse proxy of BAT fat content, was negatively associated with BMI, fat mass, and VAT mass in men and in women. These results refute the widely held belief that human BAT volume is reduced in obese persons, at least in young adults, and suggest that it might even be the opposite in young men.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo Sanchez-Delgado
- PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity" Research Group, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA
| | - Borja Martinez-Tellez
- PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity" Research Group, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Francisco M Acosta
- PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity" Research Group, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Samuel Virtue
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, U.K
| | - Antonio Vidal-Puig
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, U.K
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, U.K
| | - Angel Gil
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
- CIBEROBN, Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jose M Llamas-Elvira
- Nuclear Medicine Services, "Virgen de las Nieves" University Hospital, Granada, Spain
- Biohealth Research Institute in Granada (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, Spain
| | - Jonatan R Ruiz
- PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity" Research Group, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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6
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Gildner TE, Levy SB. Intersecting vulnerabilities in human biology: Synergistic interactions between climate change and increasing obesity rates. Am J Hum Biol 2020; 33:e23460. [PMID: 32618027 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Revised: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Increasing obesity rates and accelerating climate change represent two global health challenges shaped by lifestyle change and human environmental modifications. Yet, few studies have considered how these issues may interact to exacerbate disease risk. METHODS In this theory article, we explore evidence that obesity-related disease and climatic changes share socio-ecological drivers and may interact to increase human morbidity and mortality risks. Additionally, we consider how obesity-climate change interactions may disproportionately affect vulnerable populations and how anthropological research can be applied to address this concern. RESULTS Interactions between heat stress and cardiometabolic disease represent an important pathway through which climate change and obesity-related morbidities may jointly impair health. For example, individuals with higher body fatness and obesity-related metabolic conditions (eg, type 2 diabetes) exhibit a reduced ability to dissipate heat. The risk of poor health resulting from these interactions is expected to be heterogeneous, with low- and middle-income countries, individuals of lower socioeconomic status, and minority populations facing a greater disease burden due to relative lack of resource access (eg, air conditioning). Moreover, older adults are at higher risk due to aging-associated changes in body composition and loss of thermoregulation capabilities. CONCLUSIONS Few policy makers appear to be considering how interventions can be designed to simultaneously address the medical burden posed by increasing obesity rates and climate change. Anthropological research is well situated to address this need in a nuanced and culturally-sensitive way; producing research that can be used to support community resilience, promote holistic well-being, and improve health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa E Gildner
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Stephanie B Levy
- Department of Anthropology, Hunter College, New York, New York, USA.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
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7
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Cannon B, de Jong JMA, Fischer AW, Nedergaard J, Petrovic N. Human brown adipose tissue: Classical brown rather than brite/beige? Exp Physiol 2020; 105:1191-1200. [PMID: 32378255 DOI: 10.1113/ep087875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
NEW FINDINGS What is the topic of this review? It has been suggested that human brown adipose tissue (BAT) is more similar to the brite/beige adipose tissue of mice than to classical BAT of mice. The basis of this is discussed in relationship to the physiological conditions of standard experimental mice. What advances does it highlight? We highlight that, provided mouse adipose tissues are examined under physiological conditions closer to those prevalent for most humans, the gene expression profile of mouse classical BAT is more similar to that of human BAT than is the profile of mouse brite/beige adipose tissue. Human BAT is therefore not different in nature from classical mouse BAT. ABSTRACT Since the presence of brown adipose tissue (BAT) was established in adult humans some 13 years ago, its physiological significance and molecular characteristics have been discussed. In particular, it has been proposed that the mouse adipose tissue depot most closely resembling and molecularly parallel to human BAT is not classical mouse BAT. Instead, so-called brite or beige adipose tissue, which is characteristically observed in the inguinal 'white' adipose tissue depot of mice, has been proposed to be the closest mouse equivalent of human BAT. We summarize here the published evidence examining this question. We emphasize the differences in tissue appearance and tissue transcriptomes from 'standard' mice [young, chow fed and, in effect semi-cold exposed (20°C)] versus 'physiologically humanized' mice [middle-aged, high-fat diet-fed mice living at thermoneutrality (30°C)]. We find that in the physiologically humanized mice, classical BAT displays molecular and cellular characteristics that are more akin to human BAT than are those of brite/beige adipose tissues from either standard or physiologically humanized mice. We suggest, therefore, that mouse BAT is the more relevant tissue for translational studies. This is an invited summary of a presentation given at Physiology 2019 (Aberdeen).
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Cannon
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jasper M A de Jong
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alexander W Fischer
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jan Nedergaard
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Natasa Petrovic
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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8
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Brychta RJ, Cypess AM, Reitman ML, Chen KY. Reply to Letter to the Editor: "No insulating effect of obesity, neither in mice nor in humans". Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2019; 317:E954-E956. [PMID: 31697208 PMCID: PMC6879861 DOI: 10.1152/ajpendo.00363.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Brychta
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Aaron M Cypess
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Marc L Reitman
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Kong Y Chen
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
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