The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today revised its recommendations for rotavirus vaccines for the prevention of the disease in infants and has determined that it is appropriate for clinicians and health care professionals to resume the use of Rotarix and to continue the use of RotaTeq.
The agency reached its decision based on a careful evaluation of information from laboratory results from the manufacturers and the FDA’s own laboratories, a thorough review of the scientific literature, and input from scientific and public health experts, including members of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee that convened on May 7, 2010 to discuss these vaccines.
The FDA also considered the following in its decision:
Both vaccines have strong safety records, including clinical trials involving tens of thousands of patients as well as clinical experience with millions of vaccine recipients.
The FDA has no evidence that PCV1 or PCV2 pose a safety risk in humans, and neither is known to cause infection or illness in humans.
The benefits of the vaccines are substantial, and include prevention of death in some parts of the world and hospitalization for severe rotavirus disease in the United States. These benefits outweigh the risk, which is theoretical.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
AT&T* today announced an update on the availability of its third generation (3G) mobile broadband network in Vermont
"Vermonters are keenly aware of the value and importance of having access to high speed voice and data networks within the state and the news of AT&T's introduction of 3G capabilities to their network is welcome, indeed," said Thomas E. Murray, Executive Director of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority. "The VTA values the investments of partners like AT&T in Vermont as the VTA works toward fulfilling its mission to make broadband and wireless coverage available across the state."
AT&T’s third generation (3G) mobile broadband network opens the door to a new era of mobile services and feature-rich audio and video content for AT&T customers. As part of AT&T’s initial network upgrade plan, 3G will go live on a rolling basis starting in Bennington, Brattleboro, Brownsville, Killington, Vernon, Warren, West Dover and White River Junction sometime this week. By December 31st, 3G will be added in Burlington, Colchester, Essex Junction, Fayston, Hartford, Jamaica, Jeffersonville, Middlebury, Rutland, South Burlington, St. Albans, Stowe, Waitsfield, West Rutland, West Townshend, West Wardsboro, Williston and Winooski.
This year’s 3G expansion is the first part of an ongoing network upgrade in Vermont. Additional coverage enhancements, including early first quarter 3G expansions in Barre, Montpelier and Northfield are already planned for 2010.
The network extension is part of AT&T’s ongoing efforts to drive innovation and investment to deliver the benefits of smartphones and mobile broadband for customers. More smartphone customers have chosen AT&T over any other U.S. competitor, and AT&T is committed to driving continual enhancement of network capabilities to meet these customers’ ever-growing mobile broadband needs.
AT&T’s third generation (3G) mobile broadband network opens the door to a new era of mobile services and feature-rich audio and video content for AT&T customers. As part of AT&T’s initial network upgrade plan, 3G will go live on a rolling basis starting in Bennington, Brattleboro, Brownsville, Killington, Vernon, Warren, West Dover and White River Junction sometime this week. By December 31st, 3G will be added in Burlington, Colchester, Essex Junction, Fayston, Hartford, Jamaica, Jeffersonville, Middlebury, Rutland, South Burlington, St. Albans, Stowe, Waitsfield, West Rutland, West Townshend, West Wardsboro, Williston and Winooski.
This year’s 3G expansion is the first part of an ongoing network upgrade in Vermont. Additional coverage enhancements, including early first quarter 3G expansions in Barre, Montpelier and Northfield are already planned for 2010.
The network extension is part of AT&T’s ongoing efforts to drive innovation and investment to deliver the benefits of smartphones and mobile broadband for customers. More smartphone customers have chosen AT&T over any other U.S. competitor, and AT&T is committed to driving continual enhancement of network capabilities to meet these customers’ ever-growing mobile broadband needs.
Governor Douglas Announces Record $120 Million Paving Season
More than 300 miles of road to be paved this summer and fall
Sheldon, Vt. – Governor Jim Douglas this morning announced that the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) will conduct a record amount of paving this construction season. VTrans will invest more than $100 million on paving this season for the first time in its history. Governor Douglas made the announcement in Sheldon, where VTrans is paving nearly 10 miles of Route 105 between Sheldon and Enosburg.
“I am proud of the increased investment we’ve made in our transportation infrastructure in recent years,” the Governor said. “This year’s paving budget is a great example of our commitment. VTrans’ paving expenditure for the 2010 construction season will total about $120 million – a record sum as no other paving season has ever topped $100 million.”
To put this season’s effort in perspective, last year VTrans’ paving program totaled $75 million as the agency resurfaced 142 miles. This year, the Agency’s investments will result in the resurfacing of more than 300 miles of road.
Due to the unusually mild winter, VTrans finished the year with a surplus in its winter maintenance budget. A large portion of that surplus, $2.6 million, will be redirected to paving so that more than $6 million can be used by the Agency’s nine Maintenance Districts to “level” more than 55 miles of roadway this spring and summer in the same spirit of the Agency’s very successful Operation Smooth Ride program of 2008. Unlike the Agency’s main paving program, which provides road surface treatments that can last up to 20 years, District leveling is designed to only provide a thin layer of surface treatment with an expected lifespan of three-to-five years.
As the Agency did in 2008 for Operation Smooth Ride, VTrans’ pavement management team joined forces with Maintenance District personnel to identify some of the worst roadways statewide that were not scheduled to receive a major repaving effort in the near future.
This team identified 55 miles of roadway in 40 different towns spread all over the state,” said VTrans Secretary David Dill. “These full-width pavement overlays will range in size from as long as 4.7 miles of Route 126 in Pownal to as short as six-tenths of a mile of Route 17 in Addison. On average, these Smooth Ride leveling efforts will cover just shy of two miles each.”
In 2003, the state had a paving budget of just $21.9 million. Since then, Governor Douglas and the Legislature steadily increased the paving program and with the help of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Vermont is able to dedicate $120 million to a single paving season.
The recent attention to pavement is beginning to show progress. In 2008, 36 percent of Vermont roads were listed in very poor condition. That percentage in 2009 fell to 34 percent. With $120 million expected to be spent this coming construction season, this percentage is expected to drop to somewhere close to 30 percent by the end of 2010.
“No where is this more prevalent than on our critical Interstate system,” Governor Douglas said. “This spring, summer and fall VTrans will resurface about 90 miles of Interstate. By the time the construction season is finished, we will have resurfaced 50 percent of Vermont’s entire Interstate highway system over the past five years.”
This emphasis on paving will continue. The new fiscal year 2011 Transportation Budget that was passed last week by both the Vermont House and Senate contains $93 million for paving. Some of this money will be put to work this construction season, but some is also targeted for next year. This continued commitment to the paving program means Vermont’s percentage of very poor roadways will continue to fall.
Sheldon, Vt. – Governor Jim Douglas this morning announced that the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) will conduct a record amount of paving this construction season. VTrans will invest more than $100 million on paving this season for the first time in its history. Governor Douglas made the announcement in Sheldon, where VTrans is paving nearly 10 miles of Route 105 between Sheldon and Enosburg.
“I am proud of the increased investment we’ve made in our transportation infrastructure in recent years,” the Governor said. “This year’s paving budget is a great example of our commitment. VTrans’ paving expenditure for the 2010 construction season will total about $120 million – a record sum as no other paving season has ever topped $100 million.”
To put this season’s effort in perspective, last year VTrans’ paving program totaled $75 million as the agency resurfaced 142 miles. This year, the Agency’s investments will result in the resurfacing of more than 300 miles of road.
Due to the unusually mild winter, VTrans finished the year with a surplus in its winter maintenance budget. A large portion of that surplus, $2.6 million, will be redirected to paving so that more than $6 million can be used by the Agency’s nine Maintenance Districts to “level” more than 55 miles of roadway this spring and summer in the same spirit of the Agency’s very successful Operation Smooth Ride program of 2008. Unlike the Agency’s main paving program, which provides road surface treatments that can last up to 20 years, District leveling is designed to only provide a thin layer of surface treatment with an expected lifespan of three-to-five years.
As the Agency did in 2008 for Operation Smooth Ride, VTrans’ pavement management team joined forces with Maintenance District personnel to identify some of the worst roadways statewide that were not scheduled to receive a major repaving effort in the near future.
This team identified 55 miles of roadway in 40 different towns spread all over the state,” said VTrans Secretary David Dill. “These full-width pavement overlays will range in size from as long as 4.7 miles of Route 126 in Pownal to as short as six-tenths of a mile of Route 17 in Addison. On average, these Smooth Ride leveling efforts will cover just shy of two miles each.”
In 2003, the state had a paving budget of just $21.9 million. Since then, Governor Douglas and the Legislature steadily increased the paving program and with the help of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Vermont is able to dedicate $120 million to a single paving season.
The recent attention to pavement is beginning to show progress. In 2008, 36 percent of Vermont roads were listed in very poor condition. That percentage in 2009 fell to 34 percent. With $120 million expected to be spent this coming construction season, this percentage is expected to drop to somewhere close to 30 percent by the end of 2010.
“No where is this more prevalent than on our critical Interstate system,” Governor Douglas said. “This spring, summer and fall VTrans will resurface about 90 miles of Interstate. By the time the construction season is finished, we will have resurfaced 50 percent of Vermont’s entire Interstate highway system over the past five years.”
This emphasis on paving will continue. The new fiscal year 2011 Transportation Budget that was passed last week by both the Vermont House and Senate contains $93 million for paving. Some of this money will be put to work this construction season, but some is also targeted for next year. This continued commitment to the paving program means Vermont’s percentage of very poor roadways will continue to fall.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
VLS Conference Will Draw Top Experts To Explore Challenges of Regulatory Takings
SOUTH ROYALTON, VT - As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares for a closely watched regulatory takings case, Vermont Law School will bring together legal experts from around the country on November 6 to explore critical issues raised by recent and pending takings cases, as well as potential government responses.The daylong conference, "Litigating Regulatory Takings Challenges to Land Use and Environmental Regulations," will be held on the VLS campus in South Royalton. The event is cosponsored by Georgetown University Law Center and Columbia Law School. Preregistration is required.The series of panel discussions will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 5:15 p.m. Issues of bilateral property rights, global warming, and water regulation will be among those addressed. The lunch discussion will examine the U.S. Supreme Court case, Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, in which private waterfront landowners have challenged the state's plan to restore storm-eroded beaches. At issue is whether the legislatively supported plan, which would create public beaches between private property and the water, deprives property owners of waterfront rights and is thereby an uncompensated taking. Oral arguments are scheduled for December 2.John Echeverria, a VLS environmental law professor who recently filed an amicus brief in the Florida case on behalf of the American Planning Association and its Florida chapter, said the conference will address key questions facing lawyers, judges, scholars, and policymakers in this and other takings cases."This conference will bring together the leading academic scholars in the field of takings, along with many experienced practitioners from around the country, to discuss the cutting-edge issues involved in defining private rights-and responsibilities-with respect to land and other property," said Echeverria, who has written extensively on takings and other aspects of environmental and natural resource law.Experts from nearly a dozen leading law schools, as well as lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice, the California Attorney General's Office and the Congressional Research Service, will take part in the panel discussions. Several judges visiting VLS as members of the Kenyan Environmental Tribunal are also scheduled to attend.For details on the conference or to register online, visit http://forms.vermontlaw.edu/elc/landuse/takings09/. Registration fee is $35 for the general public or $200 for VBA CLE credits (7), and includes breakfast, lunch and an afternoon reception. For more information, email jdantonio@vermontlaw.edu or call 802-831-1217.
GE Centricity HIE Connects Vermont Patients, Providers
BARRINGTON, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE Healthcare, a leading provider of healthcare information technology, today announced that its Centricity Health Information Exchange solution (HIE) participated in the Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) second annual Interoperability Showcase. VITL is a not-for-profit organization that is facilitating the implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) systems using the GE Centricity HIE in Vermont. An HIE aims to enable care providers to securely share health information across local, regional, and eventually, national health networks. VITL demonstrated how eight different vendor EMRs could feed data into the GE Centricity HIE, enabling various healthcare providers to view and share radiology and lab results, medication histories and other critical patient data. The showcase included two clinical scenarios to illustrate how the GE Centricity HIE can facilitate the sharing of clinical data across the continuum of care to help clinicians make more informed decisions. The scenarios tracked a patient’s clinical data from primary care, specialist and emergency department visits through hospital discharge. This capability was made possible through VITL’s and GE's adherence to Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) framework and Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) Capability Specifications recommended for ARRA adoption. “With one hour and zero preparation time, we’re able to take seven EMRs out of the box and have them sharing information on an HIE they’d never connected to before. That’s only possible because we’ve adopted these standards and our EMRs are certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT),” said GE Healthcare’s Charles Parisot, member of the HITSP board. “The power of document sharing through (XDS), the use of harmonized (CDA) document content, among other specifications are delivering on their promise and making VITL capable of quick adaptation to changing health IT requirements.” “There is, perhaps, no tool more valuable to a state’s healthcare system than a well-run health information exchange network, facilitating real-time clinical data exchange through a standardized interface,” said VITL President and CEO David Cochran, MD. “The VITL Summit 2009 showcased what we believe is a national best practice model that leverages the HITSP interoperability specifications to enable a ‘plug and play’ capability that simplifies implementation of healthcare IT for our stakeholders by reducing installation time and cost.” Recently, the Health and Human Services Department announced that $564 million in federal stimulus funding has been designated for the establishment and promotion of state health information exchanges and to help build the Nationwide Health Information Network. Physicians participating in the Vermont Blueprint for Health initiative, which provides a web-based chronic care patient information system at no cost to healthcare providers, can analyze patient data in a secure, shared registry that facilitates collaboration with other providers in their community. This allows healthcare practitioners to better track patient progress and more effectively manage the health of their patient populations. GE has been providing standards-based HIE services to support the Vermont Blueprint for Health and other VITL HIE use cases since 2007. “VITL deserves great credit for its vision and action in developing a statewide HIE and for demonstrating how successful public-private partnership can accelerate value realization from an HIE infrastructure. VITL's initiative is an essential building block for a national HIE as outlined in President Obama’s plan for healthcare reform,” said Earl Jones, vice president and general manager, GE Healthcare IT.
ABOUT GE HEALTHCARE:
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems. Our "healthymagination" vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality and efficiency around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com. ABOUT VERMONT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LEADERS, INC.: Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that operates as a public-private partnership. VITL’s mission is to collaborate with all stakeholders to expand the use of secure health information technology to improve the quality and efficiency of Vermont’s health care system.
ABOUT GE HEALTHCARE:
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems. Our "healthymagination" vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality and efficiency around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com. ABOUT VERMONT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LEADERS, INC.: Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that operates as a public-private partnership. VITL’s mission is to collaborate with all stakeholders to expand the use of secure health information technology to improve the quality and efficiency of Vermont’s health care system.
King Arthur Flour Named One of Vermont’s Best Places to Work in 2009
Employee-owned Company Ranks High for Third Year Running
January 14, 2009 - Norwich, Vt. - For the third year in a row, America’s oldest flour company has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Vermont (large company division). Final rankings will be announced at an awards gala in Burlington on April 1. King Arthur Flour received the top ranking in both 2006, the award’s inaugural year, and 2007; the award program skipped 2008.“I’m thrilled that we’ve been included again this year on the list of top places to work in Vermont. This particular survey is especially meaningful to us because it uses employee feedback as its measure. What better way to gauge the success of our company’s culture?” says Suzanne McDowell, Vice President of Human Resources for King Arthur Flour. “We’re looking forward to hearing who tops the list, and proud that we’re on it for three years in a row.” The survey and award program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best workplaces in Vermont, companies that benefit the state’s economy, its workforce and its businesses. Award winners are determined in large part by an anonymous survey completed by employees to measure their experiences and find out what they really think about their companies; 70% of the judging for the award is based on those survey results. Judging also includes evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. The 2009 award program recognizes 10 small/medium-size companies (15-99 employees) and five large-size companies (more than 100 employees). The program, now in its third year in Vermont, was created by Vermont Business Magazine, the Vermont State Chamber of Commerce, the Vermont Department of Labor, the Society for Human Resource Management-Vermont State Council, the Vermont Department of Economic Development, and Best Companies Group. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration, survey and analysis process in Vermont. For more information on the Best Places to Work in Vermont program, visit bestplacestoworkinvt.com. In addition to being named the Best Place to Work in Vermont in both 2006 and 2007, King Arthur Flour’s 2008 honors include being named one of the Wall Street Journal’s Top Small Workplaces and one of WorldBlu’s Most Democratic Workplaces; receiving the Terry Ehrich Large Company Leader Award from Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility; receiving a Magnum Opus Award for The Baking Sheet bi-monthly baking newsletter; and the inclusion of kingarthurflour.com on Internet Retailer’s list of “Hot 100” retail Web sites. King Arthur Flour also received the Outstanding Vermont Business Award and the Better Business Bureau Local Torch Award for Excellence in 2006. America’s oldest flour company, King Arthur Flour was founded in Boston, Mass., in 1790 and moved its headquarters to Vermont in 1986. The company has grown since then from a regional staple to a brand known nationwide for its purity and consistent quality; from a small mail-order business with five employees in 1990 to the premier baking resource with more than 160 employees today; from a family-owned operation for five generations to a 100 percent employee-owned business. King Arthur Flour is the parent company of The Baker’s Catalogue, which offers more than 1,000 professional-grade baking tools and ingredients through its catalogue, online at kingarthurflour.com, and at The Baker’s Store in Norwich, Vt. Through its products, publications and educational programs, King Arthur Flour continues to strive toward its mission: To be a creative and profitable company that’s a product, information, and education resource for, and inspiration to, bakers worldwide.
January 14, 2009 - Norwich, Vt. - For the third year in a row, America’s oldest flour company has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Vermont (large company division). Final rankings will be announced at an awards gala in Burlington on April 1. King Arthur Flour received the top ranking in both 2006, the award’s inaugural year, and 2007; the award program skipped 2008.“I’m thrilled that we’ve been included again this year on the list of top places to work in Vermont. This particular survey is especially meaningful to us because it uses employee feedback as its measure. What better way to gauge the success of our company’s culture?” says Suzanne McDowell, Vice President of Human Resources for King Arthur Flour. “We’re looking forward to hearing who tops the list, and proud that we’re on it for three years in a row.” The survey and award program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best workplaces in Vermont, companies that benefit the state’s economy, its workforce and its businesses. Award winners are determined in large part by an anonymous survey completed by employees to measure their experiences and find out what they really think about their companies; 70% of the judging for the award is based on those survey results. Judging also includes evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. The 2009 award program recognizes 10 small/medium-size companies (15-99 employees) and five large-size companies (more than 100 employees). The program, now in its third year in Vermont, was created by Vermont Business Magazine, the Vermont State Chamber of Commerce, the Vermont Department of Labor, the Society for Human Resource Management-Vermont State Council, the Vermont Department of Economic Development, and Best Companies Group. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration, survey and analysis process in Vermont. For more information on the Best Places to Work in Vermont program, visit bestplacestoworkinvt.com. In addition to being named the Best Place to Work in Vermont in both 2006 and 2007, King Arthur Flour’s 2008 honors include being named one of the Wall Street Journal’s Top Small Workplaces and one of WorldBlu’s Most Democratic Workplaces; receiving the Terry Ehrich Large Company Leader Award from Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility; receiving a Magnum Opus Award for The Baking Sheet bi-monthly baking newsletter; and the inclusion of kingarthurflour.com on Internet Retailer’s list of “Hot 100” retail Web sites. King Arthur Flour also received the Outstanding Vermont Business Award and the Better Business Bureau Local Torch Award for Excellence in 2006. America’s oldest flour company, King Arthur Flour was founded in Boston, Mass., in 1790 and moved its headquarters to Vermont in 1986. The company has grown since then from a regional staple to a brand known nationwide for its purity and consistent quality; from a small mail-order business with five employees in 1990 to the premier baking resource with more than 160 employees today; from a family-owned operation for five generations to a 100 percent employee-owned business. King Arthur Flour is the parent company of The Baker’s Catalogue, which offers more than 1,000 professional-grade baking tools and ingredients through its catalogue, online at kingarthurflour.com, and at The Baker’s Store in Norwich, Vt. Through its products, publications and educational programs, King Arthur Flour continues to strive toward its mission: To be a creative and profitable company that’s a product, information, and education resource for, and inspiration to, bakers worldwide.
Rebecca Bowen Joins Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc.
Rebecca Bowen, MBA, MHA, FHFMA, of Montpelier has joined Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL), as the organization’s vice president for finance, VITL President and CEO David Cochran, MD, announced today.VITL is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is facilitating the adoption and implementation of electronic medical records and other health information technology by Vermont health care organizations. Previously, Bowen was the executive director of the Central Vermont Physician-Hospital Organization, Inc., having served in that position since 2000. She was the director of finance for the Kaiser Permanente health plan in Vermont from 1997 to 1999, and the vice president of finance at the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems in Montpelier from 1990 to 1997.“Rebecca is very experienced in all aspects of financial management, including budgeting and audit preparation,” said Dr. Cochran. “At VITL, she will be responsible for financial reporting, compliance with federal A-133 grant requirements, and internal procedure controls. VITL receives both state and federal funds, so I am very pleased that someone with Rebecca’s knowledge will be able to assist us. Rebecca will also assist VITL in developing programs to help physician practices finance their electronic health records.”Bowen is a fellow in the Healthcare Financial Management Association, and a diplomat in the American College of Healthcare Executives. She is a recipient of HFMA’s Muncie Gold Award, the Reeves Silver Award, and the Follmer Bronze Award. She is the former chair of the HFMA Managed Care Advisory Forum, and the past president of the NH/VT HFMA chapter. Bowen earned masters degrees in healthcare administration and business administration from Georgia State University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
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