| 1. |
- Assi, Nada, et al.
(författare)
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A statistical framework to model the meeting-in-the-middle principle using metabolomic data : application to hepatocellular carcinoma in the EPIC study
- 2015
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Ingår i: Mutagenesis. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0267-8357 .- 1464-3804. ; 30:6, s. 743-753
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Metabolomics is a potentially powerful tool for identification of biomarkers associated with lifestyle exposures and risk of various diseases. This is the rationale of the 'meeting-in-the-middle' concept, for which an analytical framework was developed in this study. In a nested case-control study on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC), serum H-1 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra (800 MHz) were acquired for 114 cases and 222 matched controls. Through partial least square (PLS) analysis, 21 lifestyle variables (the 'predictors', including information on diet, anthropometry and clinical characteristics) were linked to a set of 285 metabolic variables (the 'responses'). The three resulting scores were related to HCC risk by means of conditional logistic regressions. The first PLS factor was not associated with HCC risk. The second PLS metabolomic factor was positively associated with tyrosine and glucose, and was related to a significantly increased HCC risk with OR = 1.11 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.22, P = 0.02) for a 1SD change in the responses score, and a similar association was found for the corresponding lifestyle component of the factor. The third PLS lifestyle factor was associated with lifetime alcohol consumption, hepatitis and smoking, and had negative loadings on vegetables intake. Its metabolomic counterpart displayed positive loadings on ethanol, glutamate and phenylalanine. These factors were positively and statistically significantly associated with HCC risk, with 1.37 (1.05, 1.79, P = 0.02) and 1.22 (1.04, 1.44, P = 0.01), respectively. Evidence of mediation was found in both the second and third PLS factors, where the metabolomic signals mediated the relation between the lifestyle component and HCC outcome. This study devised a way to bridge lifestyle variables to HCC risk through NMR metabolomics data. This implementation of the 'meeting-in-the-middle' approach finds natural applications in settings characterised by high-dimensional data, increasingly frequent in the omics generation.
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| 2. |
- Campanella, Gianluca, et al.
(författare)
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Epigenome-wide association study of adiposity and future risk of obesity-related diseases
- 2018
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Ingår i: International Journal of Obesity. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0307-0565 .- 1476-5497. ; 42:12, s. 2022-2035
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Obesity is an established risk factor for several common chronic diseases such as breast and colorectal cancer, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases; however, the biological basis for these relationships is not fully understood. To explore the association of obesity with these conditions, we investigated peripheral blood leucocyte (PBL) DNA methylation markers for adiposity and their contribution to risk of incident breast and colorectal cancer and myocardial infarction.Methods: DNA methylation profiles (Illumina Infinium® HumanMethylation450 BeadChip) from 1941 individuals from four population-based European cohorts were analysed in relation to body mass index, waist circumference, waist-hip and waistheight ratio within a meta-analytical framework. In a subset of these individuals, data on genome-wide gene expression level, biomarkers of glucose and lipid metabolism were also available. Validation of methylation markers associated with all adiposity measures was performed in 358 individuals. Finally, we investigated the association of obesity-related methylation marks with breast, colorectal cancer and myocardial infarction within relevant subsets of the discovery population.Results: We identified 40 CpG loci with methylation levels associated with at least one adiposity measure. Of these, one CpG locus (cg06500161) in ABCG1 was associated with all four adiposity measures (P=9.07×10−8 to 3.27×10−18) and lower transcriptional activity of the full-length isoform of ABCG1 (P=6.00×10−7), higher triglyceride levels (P=5.37×10−9) and higher triglycerides-to-HDL cholesterol ratio (P=1.03×10−10). Of the 40 informative and obesity-related CpG loci, two (in IL2RB and FGF18) were significantly associated with colorectal cancer (inversely, P<1.6×10−3) and one intergenic locus on chromosome 1 was inversely associated with myocardial infarction (P<1.25×10−3), independently of obesity and established risk factors.Conclusion: Our results suggest that epigenetic changes, in particular altered DNA methylation patterns, may be an intermediate biomarker at the intersection of obesity and obesity-related diseases, and could offer clues as to underlying biological mechanisms.
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| 3. |
- Rothwell, Joseph A., et al.
(författare)
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Circulating amino acid levels and colorectal cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition and UK Biobank cohorts
- 2023
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Ingår i: BMC Medicine. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1741-7015. ; 21:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Amino acid metabolism is dysregulated in colorectal cancer patients; however, it is not clear whether pre-diagnostic levels of amino acids are associated with subsequent risk of colorectal cancer. We investigated circulating levels of amino acids in relation to colorectal cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) and UK Biobank cohorts.Methods: Concentrations of 13-21 amino acids were determined in baseline fasting plasma or serum samples in 654 incident colorectal cancer cases and 654 matched controls in EPIC. Amino acids associated with colorectal cancer risk following adjustment for the false discovery rate (FDR) were then tested for associations in the UK Biobank, for which measurements of 9 amino acids were available in 111,323 participants, of which 1221 were incident colorectal cancer cases.Results: Histidine levels were inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk in EPIC (odds ratio [OR] 0.80 per standard deviation [SD], 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69–0.92, FDR P-value=0.03) and in UK Biobank (HR 0.93 per SD, 95% CI 0.87–0.99, P-value=0.03). Glutamine levels were borderline inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk in EPIC (OR 0.85 per SD, 95% CI 0.75–0.97, FDR P-value=0.08) and similarly in UK Biobank (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.89–1.01, P=0.09) In both cohorts, associations changed only minimally when cases diagnosed within 2 or 5 years of follow-up were excluded.Conclusions: Higher circulating levels of histidine were associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer in two large prospective cohorts. Further research to ascertain the role of histidine metabolism and potentially that of glutamine in colorectal cancer development is warranted.
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| 4. |
- Sampson, Joshua N., et al.
(författare)
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Analysis of Heritability and Shared Heritability Based on Genome-Wide Association Studies for 13 Cancer Types
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0027-8874 .- 1460-2105. ; 107:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Studies of related individuals have consistently demonstrated notable familial aggregation of cancer. We aim to estimate the heritability and genetic correlation attributable to the additive effects of common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for cancer at 13 anatomical sites. Methods: Between 2007 and 2014, the US National Cancer Institute has generated data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for 49 492 cancer case patients and 34 131 control patients. We apply novel mixed model methodology (GCTA) to this GWAS data to estimate the heritability of individual cancers, as well as the proportion of heritability attributable to cigarette smoking in smoking-related cancers, and the genetic correlation between pairs of cancers. Results: GWAS heritability was statistically significant at nearly all sites, with the estimates of array-based heritability, h(l)(2), on the liability threshold (LT) scale ranging from 0.05 to 0.38. Estimating the combined heritability of multiple smoking characteristics, we calculate that at least 24% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 14% to 37%) and 7% (95% CI = 4% to 11%) of the heritability for lung and bladder cancer, respectively, can be attributed to genetic determinants of smoking. Most pairs of cancers studied did not show evidence of strong genetic correlation. We found only four pairs of cancers with marginally statistically significant correlations, specifically kidney and testes (rho = 0.73, SE = 0.28), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and pediatric osteosarcoma (rho = 0.53, SE = 0.21), DLBCL and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (rho = 0.51, SE = 0.18), and bladder and lung (rho = 0.35, SE = 0.14). Correlation analysis also indicates that the genetic architecture of lung cancer differs between a smoking population of European ancestry and a nonsmoking Asian population, allowing for the possibility that the genetic etiology for the same disease can vary by population and environmental exposures. Conclusion: Our results provide important insights into the genetic architecture of cancers and suggest new avenues for investigation.
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| 5. |
- Sanikini, Harinakshi, et al.
(författare)
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Anthropometric and reproductive factors and risk of esophageal and gastric cancer by subtype and subsite : Results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 146:4, s. 929-942
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Obesity has been associated with upper gastrointestinal cancers; however, there are limited prospective data on associations by subtype/subsite. Obesity can impact hormonal factors, which have been hypothesized to play a role in these cancers. We investigated anthropometric and reproductive factors in relation to esophageal and gastric cancer by subtype and subsite for 476,160 participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort. Multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox models. During a mean follow-up of 14 years, 220 esophageal adenocarcinomas (EA), 195 esophageal squamous cell carcinomas, 243 gastric cardia (GC) and 373 gastric noncardia (GNC) cancers were diagnosed. Body mass index (BMI) was associated with EA in men (BMI ≥30 vs. 18.5–25 kg/m2: HR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.25–3.03) and women (HR = 2.66, 95% CI: 1.15–6.19); however, adjustment for waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) attenuated these associations. After mutual adjustment for BMI and HC, respectively, WHR and waist circumference (WC) were associated with EA in men (HR = 3.47, 95% CI: 1.99–6.06 for WHR >0.96 vs. <0.91; HR = 2.67, 95% CI: 1.52–4.72 for WC >98 vs. <90 cm) and women (HR = 4.40, 95% CI: 1.35–14.33 for WHR >0.82 vs. <0.76; HR = 5.67, 95% CI: 1.76–18.26 for WC >84 vs. <74 cm). WHR was also positively associated with GC in women, and WC was positively associated with GC in men. Inverse associations were observed between parity and EA (HR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.14–0.99; >2 vs. 0) and age at first pregnancy and GNC (HR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.32–0.91; >26 vs. <22 years); whereas bilateral ovariectomy was positively associated with GNC (HR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.04–3.36). These findings support a role for hormonal pathways in upper gastrointestinal cancers.
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| 6. |
- Aglago, Elom K., et al.
(författare)
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Consumption of Fish and Long-chain n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Is Associated With Reduced Risk of Colorectal Cancer in a Large European Cohort
- 2020
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Ingår i: Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1542-3565 .- 1542-7714. ; 18:3, s. 6-666
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background & Aims: There is an unclear association between intake of fish and long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFAs) and colorectal cancer (CRC). We examined the association between fish consumption, dietary and circulating levels of n-3 LC-PUFAs, and ratio of n-6:n-3 LC-PUFA with CRC using data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Methods: Dietary intake of fish (total, fatty/oily, lean/white) and n-3 LC-PUFA were estimated by food frequency questionnaires given to 521,324 participants in the EPIC study; among these, 6291 individuals developed CRC (median follow up, 14.9 years). Levels of phospholipid LC-PUFA were measured by gas chromatography in plasma samples from a sub-group of 461 CRC cases and 461 matched individuals without CRC (controls). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards and conditional logistic regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs), respectively, with 95% CIs. Results: Total intake of fish (HR for quintile 5 vs 1, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.80–0.96; Ptrend = .005), fatty fish (HR for quintile 5 vs 1, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82–0.98; Ptrend = .009), and lean fish (HR for quintile 5 vs 1, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.83–1.00; Ptrend = .016) were inversely associated with CRC incidence. Intake of total n-3 LC-PUFA (HR for quintile 5 vs 1, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78–0.95; Ptrend = .010) was also associated with reduced risk of CRC, whereas dietary ratio of n-6:n-3 LC-PUFA was associated with increased risk of CRC (HR for quintile 5 vs 1, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.18–1.45; Ptrend < .001). Plasma levels of phospholipid n-3 LC-PUFA was not associated with overall CRC risk, but an inverse trend was observed for proximal compared with distal colon cancer (Pheterogeneity = .026). Conclusions: In an analysis of dietary patterns of participants in the EPIC study, we found regular consumption of fish, at recommended levels, to be associated with a lower risk of CRC, possibly through exposure to n-3 LC-PUFA. Levels of n-3 LC-PUFA in plasma were not associated with CRC risk, but there may be differences in risk at different regions of the colon.
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| 7. |
- Aglago, Elom K., et al.
(författare)
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Dietary Advanced Glycation End-Products and Colorectal Cancer Risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nutrients. - : MDPI. - 2072-6643. ; 13:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dietary advanced glycation end-products (dAGEs) have been hypothesized to be associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) by promoting inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and oxidative stress in the colonic epithelium. However, evidence from prospective cohort studies is scarce and inconclusive. We evaluated CRC risk associated with the intake of dAGEs in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Dietary intakes of three major dAGEs: Nε-carboxy-methyllysine (CML), Nε-carboxyethyllysine (CEL), and Nδ-(5-hydro-5-methyl-4-imidazolon-2-yl)-ornithine (MG-H1) were estimated in 450,111 participants (median follow-up = 13 years, with 6162 CRC cases) by matching to a detailed published European food composition database. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations of dAGEs with CRC were computed using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models. Inverse CRC risk associations were observed for CML (HR comparing extreme quintiles: HRQ5vs.Q1 = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.85-1.00) and MG-H1 (HRQ5vs.Q1 = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.85-1.00), but not for CEL (HRQ5vs.Q1 = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.89-1.05). The associations did not differ by sex or anatomical location of the tumor. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, our findings suggest an inverse association between dAGEs and CRC risk. More research is required to verify these findings and better differentiate the role of dAGEs from that of endogenously produced AGEs and their precursor compounds in CRC development.
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| 8. |
- Aglago, Elom K., et al.
(författare)
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Dietary intake of total, heme and non-heme iron and the risk of colorectal cancer in a European prospective cohort study
- 2023
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Ingår i: British Journal of Cancer. - : Springer Nature. - 0007-0920 .- 1532-1827. ; 128, s. 1529-1540
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Iron is an essential micronutrient with differing intake patterns and metabolism between men and women. Epidemiologic evidence on the association of dietary iron and its heme and non-heme components with colorectal cancer (CRC) development is inconclusive.Methods: We examined baseline dietary questionnaire-assessed intakes of total, heme, and non-heme iron and CRC risk in the EPIC cohort. Sex-specific multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed using Cox regression. We modelled substitution of a 1 mg/day of heme iron intake with non-heme iron using the leave one-out method.Results: Of 450,105 participants (318,680 women) followed for 14.2 ± 4.0 years, 6162 (3511 women) developed CRC. In men, total iron intake was not associated with CRC risk (highest vs. lowest quintile, HRQ5vs.Q1:0.88; 95%CI:0.73, 1.06). An inverse association was observed for non-heme iron (HRQ5vs.Q1:0.80, 95%CI:0.67, 0.96) whereas heme iron showed a non-significant association (HRQ5vs.Q1:1.10; 95%CI:0.96, 1.27). In women, CRC risk was not associated with intakes of total (HRQ5vs.Q1:1.11, 95%CI:0.94, 1.31), heme (HRQ5vs.Q1:0.95; 95%CI:0.84, 1.07) or non-heme iron (HRQ5vs.Q1:1.03, 95%CI:0.88, 1.20). Substitution of heme with non-heme iron demonstrated lower CRC risk in men (HR:0.94; 95%CI: 0.89, 0.99).Conclusions: Our findings suggest potential sex-specific CRC risk associations for higher iron consumption that may differ by dietary sources.
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| 9. |
- Aleksandrova, Krasimira, et al.
(författare)
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A prospective study of the immune system activation biomarker neopterin and colorectal cancer risk
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press. - 0027-8874 .- 1460-2105. ; 107:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Neopterin may be relevant for colorectal cancer (CRC) development, as a biomarker of cellular immune activity exerting pleiotropic effects on cellular ageing, oxidative stress, and inflammation. So far, the association between prediagnostic neopterin and colon and rectal cancer risk has not been evaluated in human populations. Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort using data on plasma concentrations of total neopterin (T-N, sum of neopterin and 7,8-dihydroneopterin) in 830 incident CRC case patients (561 colon and 269 rectal) matched within risk sets to 830 control participants. A subsequent replication study used data from the Hordaland Health Study, where 173 CRC case patients have been diagnosed among 6594 healthy participants over 12 years of follow-up. Results: After multivariable adjustment for a priori chosen CRC risk factors, a "U-shaped" association of T-N with CRC was revealed. Compared with the second quintile of the T-N distribution, the relative risks for the first, third, fourth, and fifth quintiles were 2.37 (95% CI = 1.66 to 3.39), 1.24 (95% CI = 0.87 to 1.77), 1.55 (95% CI = 1.08 to 2.22), and 2.31 (95% CI = 1.63 to 3.27), respectively. Replication of these associations within the Hordaland Health Study yielded similar results. No differences have been observed when the associations were explored by colon and rectal cancer site (two-sided P-difference = .87) and after excluding case patients diagnosed within the first four follow-up years. Conclusions: These novel findings provide evidence of the role of both suppressed and activated cell-mediated immunity as reflected by prediagnostic T-N concentrations in the development of CRC.
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| 10. |
- Aleksandrova, Krasimira, et al.
(författare)
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Adiposity, mediating biomarkers and risk of colon cancer in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition study
- 2014
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 134:3, s. 612-621
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Adiposity is a risk factor for colon cancer, but underlying mechanisms are not well understood. We evaluated the extent to which 11 biomarkers with inflammatory and metabolic actions mediate the association of adiposity measures, waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI), with colon cancer in men and women. We analyzed data from a prospective nested case-control study among 662 incident colon cancer cases matched within risk sets to 662 controls. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression. The percent effect change and corresponding CIs were estimated after adjusting for biomarkers shown to be associated with colon cancer risk. After multivariable adjustment, WC was associated with colon cancer risk in men (top vs. bottom tertile RR 1.68, 95% CI 1.06-2.65; ptrend = 0.02) and in women (RR 1.67, 95% CI 1.09-2.56; ptrend = 0.03). BMI was associated with risk only in men. The association of WC with colon cancer was accounted mostly for by three biomarkers, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, non-high-molecular-weight adiponectin and soluble leptin receptor, which in combination explained 46% (95% CI 37-57%) of the association in men and 50% (95% CI 40-65%) of the association in women. Similar results were observed for the associations with BMI in men. These data suggest that alterations in levels of these metabolic biomarkers may represent a primary mechanism of action in the relation of adiposity with colon cancer. Further studies are warranted to determine whether altering their concentrations may reduce colon cancer risk.
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