iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 22h

Margaret Hamilton passed away last week. She was a pioneer who coined the phrase "software engineering". She was also a leader in developing defensive programming approaches to handle errors and faults more gracefully.

youtu.be

Margaret Hamilton, NASA's First Software Engineer

YouTube video by MAKERS

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

#FishADay Brevoortia tyrannus Atlantic Menhaden. West Atlantic coasts and estuaries from Nova Scotia to Florida. Among its many colorful common names, my fave is "bughead" because they host parasitic isopods that replace their tongues (1/3) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Infection prevalence and pathology of the cymothoid parasite <i>Olencira praegustator</i> in Atlantic menhaden

Isopod parasites in the family Cymothoidae can cause reduced growth, castration, or even mortality in their hosts. Olencira praegustator is a cymothoid that parasitizes the mouth and gill chamber of ...

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#FishADay Gobiesox maeandricus Northern Clingfish. NE Pacific, shallow intercoastal waters. Pectoral and pelvic fins highly modified into very effective suction cup; holds Guinness World Record for "Stickiest Fish" with a cling force between 80 and 230 times its body weight. youtu.be/SySkRqjEb5w?...

youtu.be

This Fish Sucks: The Northern Clingfish

YouTube video by SciFri

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

#FishADay Petromyzon marinus Sea Lamprey. Northern hemisphere anadromous; spawn in streams before maturing and going to sea (or lake--invasive species in the Great Lakes). Feed on blood of a variety of hosts, including sharks, which require tolerance to very high urea levels youtu.be/-KfoGaoH1XY?...

youtu.be

Basking sharks and Lampreys (Lampreys on SHARKS!)

YouTube video by BlueWorldTV

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Reposted by Hannah Owens

Julia McHugh @drjmchugh.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Online Petition for the Sternberg Museum of Natural to remain open. www.change.org/p/save-the-s...

change.org

Sign the Petition

Save the Sternberg Museum of Natural History from Closure

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#FishADay Scalicus engyceros An armored searobin with no English common name. Benthic, deep Pacfic, often associated with seamounts. Skitters along the seafloor on spidery "legs" that are actually modified pectoral fin rays. www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/1...

eurekalert.org

Walking Behavior in Peristediid Fishes in the South China Sea

This video documents the distinctive benthic [deep-sea] behaviors of three peristediid (armored searobin) fishes observed in the South China Sea: Scalicus engyceros, Paraheminodus murrayi and Per...

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

#FishADay Chirolophis decoratus Decorated Prickleback. Neritic--prefers hiding in shallow rocky habitats in N. Pacific from Kamchatka to Humboldt Bay. Elaborate cirri on head may help camouflage. Lays eggs in a mass which are guarded until hatch by males or females. youtu.be/5ZLJ2_Af0p4

youtu.be

Rare Footage of Decorated Warbonnet Guarding Eggs

YouTube video by ScubaMoto

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

#FishADay Sebastes melanops Black Rockfish. NE Pacific coast from Alaska to southern California. Croak, knock, and grunt by vibrating their swim bladders. One of a few species a recent study was able to identify just based on sound. Move over, birders! theconversation.com/scientists-h...

theconversation.com

Scientists have identified unique sounds for 8 fish species

Researchers have known for centuries that some fish make sounds. Now, using special underwater acoustics, researchers have been able to identify sounds from eight different species.

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

#FishADay Trachurus murphyi Chilean Jack Mackerel. Epipelagic South Pacific. One of the species being substituted in for NE Atlantic "true" mackerel, which has been declining. Of course, T. murphyi is also declining... www.ft.com/content/980a...

ft.com

UK canned ‘mackerel’ now contains no mackerel

Critics say switch to tins comprising more sustainable species risks confusing consumers

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

#FishADay Helostoma temminckii Kissing Gourami. Native to still, FW in continental SE Asia and nearby islands, introduced more broadly across Asia, popular in pet trade. Some host parasitic algae, but of course most notable for mouth fighting behavior.

commons.wikimedia.org

File:Helostoma temminkii kissing.ogv - Wikimedia Commons

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

#FishADay Ameiurus nebulosus Brown Bullhead. FW Atlantic and Gulf Slope drainages of NA. First fish species documented to host a transmissible cancer--in this case, a melanoma that doesn't seem to be particularly deadly. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

Rare contagious cancer discovered in wild catfish

Transmissible tumours have been found in only a few types of animal, but there might be many more out there.

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

#FishADay Solenostomus snuffleupagus Hairy Ghost Pipefish. Newly described from material collected in early 90s off Queensland. "Hair" actually skin filaments that help it blend in with reef macroalgae. Only ~3cm long--no wonder it went long undetected www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-re...

scientificamerican.com

A real Mr. Snuffleupagus? Meet the ocean’s strangest new fish species

A strange, tiny fish that resembles the famous Sesame Street character camouflages amid red algae thanks to its flamboyant reddish “hairs”

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

#FishADay Bassozetus robustus Robust Assfish. Deep sea down to 4000+m? Global? But might also be several species that should be split up. youtu.be/rktnlbkGUJc?...

youtu.be

Black Hole: Bassozetus

YouTube video by Caladan Oceanic

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

#FishADay Conger conger European Conger. Eastern Atlantic, rocky near-shore habitats. Maxing out at ~3m and ~72kg, world's heaviest eel. Migrate to deep water to spawn and die. youtu.be/9hLWgXoEXU4?...

youtu.be

CONGER EEL Monster of the Deep in UK Waters

YouTube video by Dave's Cave

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

#FishADay Demogorgonichthys arcanus Demon Cave Fish. One cave system in northern Alabama. Eyeless; appears to have lost its vision following an evolutionary pathway separate from a close blind relative that is found in the same system! www.scientificamerican.com/article/newl...

scientificamerican.com

Newly discovered ‘demon cave fish’ hid out in Alabama military installation for 40 years

Scientists named this oddball creature after the Demogorgon from Stranger Things

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

#FishADay Notropis percobromus Carmine Shiner. Eastern North America from Manitoba to Arkansas; mostly in river and stream pools w/ some current. Breeding males sport bright red heads. Overall IUCN least concern, but federally listed in Canada. www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/about-notre-...

dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Aquatic Species at Risk, Carmine Shiner (Notropis percobromus)

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

#occCite version 0.6.3 is now on CRAN, ready for the #rgbif changeover to Catalog of Life Extended release taxonomy. #Rstats #RopenSci docs.ropensci.org/occCite/news...

docs.ropensci.org

Changelog

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

#FishADay Cottus cognatus Slimy Sculpin. Nocturnal, cold streams and lakes from northeast Canada to eastern Siberia. Invasive Round Gobies may be muscling them out of their favorite nesting spots, as well as snarfing up eggs and young. www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/19/i...

greatlakesnow.org

I Speak for the Fish: Searching for the elusive sculpin - Great Lakes Now

Sculpin are masters of camouflage and only the most discerning of observers will ever spot one.

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Ecological niche modelers, seasoned and new! This is a really nice review of causes of and potential solutions to over-fitting. It's also a great guide to generally improving your niche models, and a reminder that good fit stats do not always mean good models. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

When Good Fit Goes Bad: Identifying and Minimising Overfitting in Ecological Niche Models

Aim To synthesise current understanding of overfitting as a pervasive and often underdiagnosed problem in correlative ecological niche models (ENMs), and to assess its consequences for model interpr...

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

After a fantastic week at #JMIH26, it’s time for some R&R

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

The fish in 4D tour continues! If you’re attending #JMIH26 this week and want to hear what 3D distribution models through time might have to tell us about a classic marine biogeographic pattern, stop by my talk on Friday morning. I’ll also be handing out #voluModel hex logo stickers all week!

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Attention, biodiversity scientists! The #occCite #R package is back on CRAN after a spring sabattical brought on by dependency changes. Thanks for your patience, and enjoy once again being able to more easily and robustly cite the sources of large biodiversity datasets! docs.ropensci.org/occCite/

docs.ropensci.org

Querying and Managing Large Biodiversity Occurrence Datasets

Facilitates the gathering of biodiversity occurrence data from disparate sources. Metadata is managed throughout the process to facilitate reporting and enhanced ability to repeat analyses.

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

And this is why you have to be careful about model extrapolation! #mop #mess #enm Thanks, as always, to @xkcd.com for providing premium content for my stats lectures. imgs.xkcd.com/comics/messi...

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Great reminder in the first keynote of #SOTM2026 Greta Pecl—models shape decisions, but they are not neutral mirrors of reality.

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

I know #FishADay hasn't exactly been every day lately and it's not actually a fish, but while diving on vacation in Lanyu this week we saw a cuttlefish and I can't stop thinking about it,

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and making new connections at Species on the Move 2026. Also presenting-- maybe I'll see you there? #SOTM2026 #SOTM26 #SpeciesOnTheMove #Taiwan #Nantou

Text card reading "Species on the Move 2026; Thursday April 23, 2026, 11.15 am-11.30 am; 'Revisiting the Anti-Tropical Puzzle: 3D Models Through Deep Time'". At the bottom left, it says "Powered by Whova". On the bottom right, there is a picture of Hannah, a white woman wearing a green knit hat, with a label saying "Hannah Owens".

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Reposted by Hannah Owens

MBA Library @nmbluk.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

#OTD in 1788 Mary Roberts was born. An accomplished author, she mainly wrote about natural history and her local countryside. 'The sea-side companion; or marine natural history', was published in 1835 📖BE.30/R #WomensHistoryMonth

The front cover of a book titled The Seaside Companion; or, Marine Natural History by Mary Roberts

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Here’s your reminder to go on a little weekend adventure every so often.

A tawny owl is perched in a knothole in a tree. It is daylight, and the owl’s eyes are closed.

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

#FishADay Albatrossia pectoralis Giant Grenadier. Deep (usually 400 to 1,000 m) benthic North Pacific, up to 2m long. Juveniles seem to be pelagic, settling to the bottom as they mature. Glorious video by NOAA Ocean Exploration youtu.be/yuLDm3mXvas

youtu.be

Now That's Deep...And CLOSE!

YouTube video by oceanexplorergov

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Reposted by Hannah Owens

MBA Library @nmbluk.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

#February11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science 🔬 We are privileged to have a wide variety of books in our collection by, or about, women in science and marine biology. So to celebrate we've set up a display of a small selection of them in our Reading Room @thembauk.bsky.social

A colour photograph of a display of fourteen books written by, or about, women i science. These are displayed alongside information sheets on former MBA researchers Molly Spooner, Marie Lebour and Mary Parke as well as Miriam Rothschild, who was briefly spent time at the MBA

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

#FishADay Parupeneus barberinus Dotdash goatfish. Indo-Pacific reef flats and lagoons down to 100m. Names for caudal peduncle dot and prominent stripe; stripe is black in shallower fishes, red in deeper ones. Enjoy some classic barbel snuffling through sand for tasty morsels. youtu.be/YxK9lrHQbYw

youtu.be

Dash Dot Goatfish and the Barbels

YouTube video by Ismail Nadheem

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

#FishADay Eleotris sandwicensis O'opu 'akupa aka Sandwich Island Sleeper. Hawai'i's only endemic sleeper goby. Hatch in lower streams, move down to marine waters to mature, then return to freshwater. Increasingly frequent droughts on the islands could be a problem. www.nps.gov/articles/pac...

nps.gov

Stream Life in Hawai‘i National Parks (U.S. National Park Service)

How changes in weather patterns effect animal life in streams monitored by PACN I&M

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

#FishADay Enneacanthus chaetodon Blackbanded Sunfish. Thrives in tannic, vegetated waters from New Jersey to Florida. Range decreasing and fragmenting with drying of wetlands; extirpated or endangered in some parts of Eastern US. Pet trade also a problem in some places. www.fws.gov/rivers/story...

fws.gov

Bringing blackbanded sunfish back to blackwater habitat in Maryland | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

On a picture-perfect, mid-September Monday, a dozen staff from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service caravaned down a rutted dirt road in a Wildlife Manag...

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

#FishADay Icichthys lockingtoni Medusafish. N. Pacific Ocean, pelagic. Young seen offshore sheltering in jellyfish (time code 0:29 in this video from @mbarinews.bsky.social, although really, you should watch the whole thing; there are juvy king crabs riding a sea pig). youtu.be/VhG7LNUcvYc

youtu.be

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Deep Sea: Friend, foe, or frenemy?

YouTube video by MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

#FishADay Mitsukurina owstoni Goblin Shark. Benthopelagic, mostly near continental slopes and seamounts. Known from < 250 captured individuals, so a recent well-documented recreational rod-and-reel capture (and release!) off the Canaries is very exciting. oceanographicmagazine.com/news/rare-de...

oceanographicmagazine.com

Rare deep-sea shark seen for first time in Canary Island waters

First-of-its kind sighting expands knowledge about elusive sharks , and underlines importance of the Canary Islands’ deep water habitats

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

#FishADay Neocyttus helgae False Boarfish. North Atlantic below 900m. 2009 submersible study documented territorial displays, including raising dorsal fin spine and trying to bite the vehicle. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhD3...

youtube.com

Oreo (aka, False Boarfish): Voyage to the Ridge 2022

YouTube video by oceanexplorergov

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

#FishADay Sphyraena barracuda Great Barracuda. Global tropical and warm temperate oceans. Ambush prey in open water, swimming them down at up to 58 km/h (36 mph). Attacks on humans do happen (read on), but ciguatera seems to be biggest barracuda-associated danger. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOsA...

youtube.com

Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) in 4K

YouTube video by Red Sea Bit

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

#FishADay Atherina presbyter Sand Smelt. Northeastern Atlantic, shallow estuarine and coastal. Spawn from January to June. Important food fish for humans and other fishes, but enjoy a juvenile sand smelt eating a juvenile flatfish youtu.be/-mHSbsBnNpw

youtu.be

Sand Smelt (Atherina presbyter) Eating baby Flatfish

YouTube video by Ocellated Eelpout

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

#FishADay Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides Harlequin Sweetlips. Found on Indo-Pacific reefs. Adults are pretty standard fish-shaped fish with big lips (hence the name). Juveniles are spectacular Batesian mimics of toxic flatworms. www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0hd...

youtube.com

Dancing Juvenile Harlequin Sweetlips | 10/08/2019

YouTube video by Borneo Diving Addicts

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

#FishADay Typhlonus nasus Faceless Cusk Eel. Deep (below 4k m) IndoPacific. Monotypic genus. "Faceless" because mouth is located below bulbous head and snout with large nostrils, eyes are greatly reduced. youtu.be/d3nCVWfqEK0

youtu.be

Faceless Eels in the Cook Islands Deep | Nautilus Live

YouTube video by EVNautilus

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

#FishADay Nimbochromis venustus Giraffe Hap. A cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi; prefers deeper parts of the lake, where it plays dead and waits to snap up smaller, juvenile cichlids. youtu.be/-XyVW3HXu7Q

youtu.be

Nimbochromis Livingstonii Hunting Behaviour at Lions Cove - Rare Footage - Lake Malawi Cichlids

YouTube video by African Cichlid Hub

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

#FishADay Chrysophrys auratus Silver Seabream. Amphitropical West Pacific, mostly over rocky bottoms and reefs. Prized as a food fish, sustainable in some places, but careful where they're from. Notorious for getting so hungry during spawning they'll bite your sinker. fish.gov.au/reportstock?...

fish.gov.au

Snapper 2023

Snapper is widely distributed in Australia and managed as twelve stocks. Six are sustainable, one is recovering, four are depleted and one is undefined.

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

#FishADay Carcharhinus brachyurus Bronze Whaler. Global, mostly temperate, from surf zone to continental margins. Give live birth, then use shallow, inshore waters as nurseries. Oldest nursery from early miocene Pisco Basin in Peru! youtu.be/6F_ijXskNDA?...

youtu.be

Bronze Whaler Shark Rottnest!

YouTube video by Scuba Gas Junkies

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

#FishADay Scolopsis affinis Bridled monocle bream. Western Pacific; prefer sandy or muddy bottoms near reefs. Cooperatively mob predatory worms that rely on stealth to catch prey. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY21...

youtube.com

Fish against Monsterworm //Scolopsis affinis mobbing

YouTube video by Jose Lachat

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

#FishADay Hopliancistrus wolverine Wolverine Pleco. Described in 2021. As with others in the genus, males have several extensible, stout dermal "teeth" under its gills. Unlike other members of the genus, they use these teeth to jab unwitting ichthyologists. shoalconservation.org/wp-content/u...

shoalconservation.org

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Hannah Owens @hannahoish.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

#FishADay Oxylebius pictus Painted Greenling. NE Pacific; shallow rocky areas. Has bounced around a bit taxonomically thanks to its weird pointy head, but (according to Eschmeyer's Catalog) it's currently found with the rest of the greenlings in Hexagrammidae. youtu.be/Gk3FMfx-2KQ

youtu.be

Mating Pair of Painted Greenlings, Oxylebius pictus

YouTube video by Ed Bierman

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