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Mayer CH, Kelley JL. The Emperor of Fashion's New Starts: Creativity and Meaning in Life in Karl Lagerfeld. EUROPES JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2022; 17:152-163. [PMID: 35136436 PMCID: PMC8763220 DOI: 10.5964/ejop.4521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
During his lifetime, Karl Otto Lagerfeld (1933-2018) attained such industry renown that he became widely known as the Emperor of Fashion. Lagerfeld ran several fashion houses, such as Chanel and Fendi, leading them to unprecedented profits. He also created his own fashion label. Owing to his unremitting pursuit of excellence through creative expression, Lagerfeld's creativity, energy and intuition for fashion trends seemed only to expand throughout his long career. The authors suggest that, through his creative approach to fashion, architecture, and publishing, Lagerfeld articulated and refined a core set of values-such as "Bildung," "lightness" and "the unexpected"-that served as a Diltheyan "nexus" linking the Prussian-born designer with the global consumer. The authors apply two specific creativity theories to Lagerfeld's life and work, namely the mini-c, little-c, Pro-c and Big-C creativity theory and Sternberg's WICS-model (wisdom, intelligence and creativity). The article uses a psychobiographical case study design formulated according to a research paradigm of modern hermeneutics. First- and third-person data on Lagerfeld were collected and evaluated through a hermeneutically-informed syntho-analysis. Research ethics were followed. The findings demonstrate the interplay of mini-c, little-c, Pro-c and Big-C creativity throughout the subject's lifetime, as well as the subject's application of WICS, both of which led to the subject's worldwide success. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations for future research and practice are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claude-Hélène Mayer
- Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Faculty of Cultural Studies, European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Frankfurt, Germany
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Holm-Hadulla RM, Hofmann FH, Sperth M, Mayer CH. Creativity and Psychopathology: An Interdisciplinary View. Psychopathology 2021; 54:39-46. [PMID: 33326984 DOI: 10.1159/000511981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Since ancient philosophy, extraordinary creativity is associated with mental disorders, emotional and cognitive destabilization, and melancholia. We here summarize the results of empirical and narrative studies and analyze the most prominent case of a highly creative person who suffered from dysthymia and major depression with suicidality. Hereby, we focus on the interaction of different phases of the creative process with "bipolar" personality traits. Finally, we offer an interdisciplinary interpretation of the creative dialectics between order and chaos. The results show that severe psychopathology inhibits creativity. Mild and moderate disorders can inspire and motivate creative work but are only leading to new and useful solutions when creators succeed in transforming their emotional instability and cognitive incoherence into stable and coherent forms. The cultural idea that creativity emerges in dialectical processes between order and chaos, is also to be found in the psychologic interplay of coherence and incoherence, and in neuro-scientific models of the dynamics between tightening and loosening of neuronal structures. Consequences are drawn for the psychotherapeutic treatment of persons striving for creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rainer M Holm-Hadulla
- Medical Department, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany, .,Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile,
| | - Frank-Hagen Hofmann
- Psychological Department, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.,Counseling Service for Students, Heidelberg Student Services, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Sperth
- Counseling Service for Students, Heidelberg Student Services, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Claude-Hélène Mayer
- Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Steinberg H, Schönknecht P. Goethe: A bipolar personality? Periodicity of affective states in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe as reflected by Paul Julius Möbius. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL BIOGRAPHY 2020; 28:174-180. [PMID: 29372661 DOI: 10.1177/0967772017743880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
This paper aims to investigate the character and etiological basis of German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's mental disorder. From 1898, German neuropsychiatrist Paul Julius Möbius developed the hypothesis that Goethe's work provided several hints for the notion that the German poet suffered from a distinct bipolar disorder. The paper investigates Möbius's psychopathographic study on Goethe and his hypothesis of a mood periodicity in Goethe against the mirror of modern concepts. Möbius came to the conclusion that Goethe's illness was bipolar in character and became visible at intervals of seven years and lasted for about two years. The majority of Möbius's contemporary psychiatric colleagues (Emil Kraepelin, Max Isserlin, Ernst Kretschmer, Josef Breuer) supported this view which has still not been convincingly challenged. In present-day terms, Möbius's hypothesis can be best mirrored as a subclinical foundation of mood disorder. Furthermore, with his extensive study, Möbius disproved the common notion that Goethe had suffered from an illness as the result of a syphilitic infection.
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Chen Z, Xiao S. How Does Affective Disorder Relate to Creativity? The Pathography of the Chinese Writer Yu Dafu. Psychopathology 2020; 53:1-7. [PMID: 32208391 DOI: 10.1159/000503394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Yu Dafu, arguably one of the greatest writers in modern Chinese history, is characterized by critics as having a sentimental and decadent style. His life is clearly marked by mood bipolarity, and it seems that his creativity was affected by extreme emotional states. However, this link remains unclear. METHODS Yu's self-assessments in his works and letters are analyzed from the perspective of current psychiatric classifications. Examples are extracted from his writing career and habits to help illuminate the relationship between mental disorders and literary creativity. RESULTS Yu's writing career seems to be divided into four blocks. He was in a deep depression when he studied abroad and taught in China and experienced a hypomanic episode afterward, when he created a magazine and fell in love. The pattern of his mood changes is consistent with the symptoms of bipolar II disorder. His maintenance of a high degree of literary productivity alongside his anguish during depressive episodes may suggests mixed states. CONCLUSIONS Mood changes shaped Yu's life and writing career. Depressive and hypomanic moods enhanced his creativity in several ways, and some situations in his life indicate that writing and literary pursuits also have reverse effects on one's mental state. The perspective that mental disorders are seen as a certain profile of literary career can help us to better understand the writers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhimin Chen
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Shifu Xiao
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China,
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Wigand ME, Wiegand HF, Altintas E, Jäger M, Becker T. Migration, Identity, and Threatened Mental Health: Examples from Contemporary Fiction. Transcult Psychiatry 2019; 56:1076-1093. [PMID: 30091689 DOI: 10.1177/1363461518794252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In 2015, the world saw 244 million international migrants. Migration has been shown to be both a protective and a risk factor for mental health, depending on circumstances. Furthermore, culture has an impact on perceptions and constructions of mental illness and identity, both of which can be challenged through migration. Using a qualitative research approach, we analysed five internationally acclaimed and influential novels and one theatre play that focus on aspects of identity, migration, and threatened mental health. As a mirror of society, fiction can help to understand perceptions of identity and mental suffering on an intrapsychic and societal level, while at the same time society itself can be influenced by works of fiction. Fiction is also increasingly used for didactic purposes in medical education. We found that the works of fiction discussed embrace a multifaceted biopsychosocial concept of mental illness. Constructs such as unstable premigration identity, visible minority status (in the host country) and identity confusion in second-generation migrants are conceptualised as risk factors for mental illness. Factors portrayed as protective comprised a stable premigration identity, being safe with a family member or good friend, (romantic) love, therapeutic writing, art, and the concept of time having an element of simultaneousness. This literature challenges the idiocentric model of identity. Analysing fictional texts on migration experiences can be a promising hypothesis-generating approach for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hauke F Wiegand
- University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
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Gu S, Gao M, Yan Y, Wang F, Tang YY, Huang JH. The Neural Mechanism Underlying Cognitive and Emotional Processes in Creativity. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1924. [PMID: 30429805 PMCID: PMC6220028 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Creativity is related to both cognition and emotion, which are the two major mental processes, interacting with each other to form psychological processes. Emotion is the major driving force of almost all creativities, sometimes in an unconscious way. Even though there are many studies concerning the relationship between creativity and cognition, there are few studies about the neural mechanisms of the emotional effects on creativity. Here, we introduce a novel model to explain the relationship between emotions and creativities: Three Primary Color model, which proposes that there are four major basic emotions; these basic emotions are subsided by three monoamines, just like the three primary colors: dopamine-joy, norepinephrine-stress (fear and anger), and serotonin-punishment. Interestingly, these three neuromodulators play similar roles in creativity, whose core features are value and novelty (surprise), like the characteristics of the core features of basic emotions (hedonic value and arousal value). Dysfunctions of these neuromodulators may be the reasons for both psychopathology and creativity, in that they can change the thinking styles such as novelty seeking behavior, hyper-connectivity of brain areas, and/or cognitive disinhibition to induce both creativity and psychopathology. This new model will not only help researchers understand the dynamics of basic emotion elements, it can also bring an entirely new perspective into the relationship between psychopathology and creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simeng Gu
- Department of Psychology, School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China.,Institute of Emotion, School of Psychology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Mengdan Gao
- Institute of Emotion, School of Psychology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Yaoyao Yan
- Institute of Emotion, School of Psychology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Fushun Wang
- Institute of Emotion, School of Psychology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.,Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, TX, United States.,College of Medicine, Texas A&M HSC, Temple, TX, United States
| | - Yi-Yuan Tang
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States.,Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Jason H Huang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, TX, United States.,College of Medicine, Texas A&M HSC, Temple, TX, United States
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Bloch AM, Gabbay E, Knowlton SF, Fins JJ. Psychiatry, Cultural Competency, and the Care of Ultra-Orthodox Jews: Achieving Secular and Theocentric Convergence Through Introspection. JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND HEALTH 2018; 57:1702-1716. [PMID: 30078155 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-018-0678-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Several socio-cultural factors complicate mental health care in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish population. These include societal stigma, fear of the influence of secular ideas, the need for rabbinic approval of the method and provider, and the notion that excessive concern with the self is counter-productive to religious growth. Little is known about how the religious beliefs of this population might be employed in therapeutic contexts. One potential point of convergence is the Jewish philosophical tradition of introspection as a means toward personal, interpersonal, and spiritual growth. We reviewed Jewish religious-philosophical writings on introspection from antiquity (the Babylonian Talmud) to the Middle Ages (Duties of the Heart), the eighteenth century (Path of the Just), the early Hasidic movement (the Tanya), and modernity (Alei Shur, Halakhic Man). Analysis of these texts indicates that: (1) introspection can be a religiously acceptable reaction to existential distress; (2) introspection might promote alignment of religious beliefs with emotions, intellect and behavior; (3) some religious philosophers were concerned about the demotivating effects of excessive introspection and self-critique on religious devotion and emotional well-being; (4) certain religious forms of introspection are remarkably analogous to modern methods of psychiatry and psychology, particularly psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy. We conclude that homology between religious philosophy of emotion and secular methods of psychiatry and psychotherapy may inform the choice and method of mental health care, foster the therapist-patient relationship, and thereby enable therapeutic convergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron M Bloch
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Ezra Gabbay
- Hospital Medicine Section, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, 525 East 68th Street, Box 331, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
| | - Samantha F Knowlton
- Division of Medical Ethics, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Joseph J Fins
- Division of Medical Ethics, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Solomon Center for Health Law & Policy, Yale Law School, New Haven, CT, USA
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Vellante F, Sarchione F, Ebisch SJH, Salone A, Orsolini L, Marini S, Valchera A, Fornaro M, Carano A, Iasevoli F, Martinotti G, De Berardis D, Di Giannantonio M. Creativity and psychiatric illness: A functional perspective beyond chaos. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018; 80:91-100. [PMID: 28689007 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.06.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2017] [Revised: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Federica Vellante
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; NHS, Department of Mental Health, Psychiatric Service of Diagnosis and Treatment, Hospital "G. Mazzini", Asl 4, Teramo, Italy
| | - Fabiola Sarchione
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Anatolia Salone
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Laura Orsolini
- Polyedra Research Group, 64100 Teramo, Italy.; Villa S. Giuseppe Hospital, Hermanas Hospitalarias, Ascoli Piceno, Italy; School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK
| | - Stefano Marini
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | | | - Michele Fornaro
- New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYPSI), Columbia University, NYC, NY, USA
| | - Alessandro Carano
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; NHS, Department of Mental Health, Psychiatric Service of Diagnosis and Treatment, Hospital "Maria SS del Soccorso", San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
| | - Felice Iasevoli
- Polyedra Research Group, 64100 Teramo, Italy.; Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive and Odontostomatogical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Napoli, Italy
| | - Giovanni Martinotti
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Domenico De Berardis
- NHS, Department of Mental Health, Psychiatric Service of Diagnosis and Treatment, Hospital "G. Mazzini", Asl 4, Teramo, Italy; Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
| | - Massimo Di Giannantonio
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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Mayer CH, Maree D. A Psychobiographical Study of Intuition in a Writer's Life: Paulo Coelho Revisited. EUROPES JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2017; 13:472-490. [PMID: 28904596 PMCID: PMC5590531 DOI: 10.5964/ejop.v13i3.1184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2016] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Intuition is defined as a form of knowledge which materialises as awareness of thoughts, feelings and physical sensations. It is a key to a deeper understanding and meaningfulness. Intuition, used as a psychological function, supports the transmission and integration of perceptions from unconscious and conscious realms. This study uses a psychobiographical single case study approach to explore intuition across the life span of Paulo Coelho. Methodologically, the study is based on a single case study, using the methodological frame of Dilthey's modern hermeneutics. The author, Paulo Coelho, was chosen as a subject of research, based on the content analysis of first- and third-person perspective documents. Findings show that Paulo Coelho, as one of the most famous and most read contemporary authors in the world, uses his intuitions as a deeper guidance in life, for decision-making and self-development. Intuitive decision-making is described throughout his life and by referring to selected creative works.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claude-Hélène Mayer
- Institut für Therapeutische Kommunikation und Sprachgebrauch, Europa-Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.,Department of Psychology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - David Maree
- Department of Psychology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
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Wigand ME, Wiegand HF, Rüsch N, Becker T. Personal suffering and social criticism in T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land and A. Ginsberg's Howl: Implications for social psychiatry. Int J Soc Psychiatry 2016; 62:672-678. [PMID: 27647604 DOI: 10.1177/0020764016667144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land and A. Ginsberg's Howl are two landmark poems of the 20th century which have a unique way of dealing with emotional suffering. AIMS (a) To explore the interplay between emotional suffering, conflicting relationships and societal perceptions; (b) to show the therapeutic effect of the writing process; (c) to analyse the portrayal of 'madness'; and (d) to discuss, in contemporary psychiatric terms, the 'solutions' offered by the poets. METHOD Qualitative research with a narrative, hermeneutic approach. RESULTS Against the background of wartime/genocide and postwar disillusionment, close relationships are projected onto societal perceptions. Concepts of (self-)control, compassion, empowerment and self-efficacy are offered as solutions to overcome feelings of despair. CONCLUSION In a time of perceived societal and environmental crises, both poems help us understand people's fears and how to counteract them. Besides biological approaches, the narrative approach to the suffering human being has not lost its significance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moritz E Wigand
- 1 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II, Ulm University, BKH Günzburg, Günzburg, Germany
| | - Hauke F Wiegand
- 2 Epilepsy Centre Berlin-Brandenburg, Epilepsieklinik Tabor, Bernau, Germany
| | - Nicolas Rüsch
- 1 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II, Ulm University, BKH Günzburg, Günzburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Becker
- 1 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II, Ulm University, BKH Günzburg, Günzburg, Germany
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Holm-Hadulla RM, Koutsoukou-Argyraki A. Mental health of students in a globalized world: Prevalence of complaints and disorders, methods and effectivity of counseling, structure of mental health services for students. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mhp.2015.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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