1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Patapsco River
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The Patapsco River is a 39-mile-long river in central Maryland which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The rivers tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore, with its South Branch, the Patapsco forms the northern border of Howard County, Maryland. The name Patapsco is derived from the Algonquian pota-psk-ut, which translates to backwater or tide covered with froth, the Patapsco proper begins at the confluence of the North and South Branches, near Marriottsville, approximately 15 miles west of downtown Baltimore. The 19. 4-mile-long South Branch rises further west at Parrs Spring, where Howard County, Carroll, Frederick, the North Branch flows 20.9 miles southward from its origins in Carroll County. Through most of its length, the Patapsco is a minor river, the last 10 miles, however, form a large tidal estuary inlet of Chesapeake Bay. The inner part of this provides the harbor of Baltimore, composed of the Northwest Harbor. The Patapsco estuary is south of the Back River and north of the Magothy River, the Patapsco has a watershed area of 680 square miles, or 632 square miles of land. Thus, its watershed area is 7% water. Patapsco Valley State Park is adjacent to 32 miles of the Patapsco and its branches, the river cuts a gorge 100–200 feet deep within the park, which features rocky cliffs and tributary waterfalls. Liberty Dam and its reservoir, located on the North Branch, is a component of the Baltimore city water system. Besides Baltimore, the river flows through Ellicott City and Elkridge. John Smith was the first European to explore the river noting it on his 1612 map as the Bolus River, the Red river, was named after the clay color, and is considered the old Bolus, as other branches were also labelled Bolus on maps. As the river was not navigable beyond Elkridge, it was not a path of commerce with only one ship listed as serving the northern branch. The Patapsco valley was used as the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroads original main line west constructed from 1829 onwards, many old railroad bridges were constructed in the valley, most notably the Thomas Viaduct and the Patterson Viaduct, of which ruins remain. Flour mills and a dam were formerly powered by the river. The valley is prone to flooding, though at long intervals, in 1972 as a result of rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Agnes, in which Ellicott City and the Old Main Line sustained serious damage. In July 2016 a historic flood ravaged Main Street - leaving two dead, the mouth of the Patapsco River forms Baltimore harbor, the site of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. This is where Francis Scott Key, while aboard a British ship, wrote The Star-Spangled Banner, today, a red, white, and blue buoy marks the spot where the HMS Tonnant was anchored
3.
Elkridge, Maryland
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Elkridge is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,593 at the 2010 census, founded early in the 18th century, Elkridge is located at the confluence of three counties, the other two being Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties. Elkridge qualifies as the oldest settlement in its present county, when Howard was a part of Anne Arundel County and its location on the Patapsco River was a key element in its growth. The Maryland General Assembly elected a law to erect a 30-acre, in 1738 an attempt to formalize the town failed with the death of the commissioners before passage. In 1750 a second attempt to formalize the town was attempted around the lands of Phillip Hammond, by comparison, Baltimore Town consisted of only 25 dwellings at that time. A third petition was filed in 1762, the settlement was founded as a place where planters, who each had a wharf along the river, could bring their tobacco crop to be loaded on English trading ships. Later, Elkridge Landing was built as the dock for the community. The millrace that fed water to the furnace was filled in in the 1920s to create the current Race Road, the Hockley Forge and Mill were created upstream in 1760. In 1781, Lafayette camped light infantry at Elkridge Landing en route to Virginia during the Revolutionary war, in 1825, Jansen Town burned, taking out all of the oldest buildings at the Landing and 9 out of 10 houses in the village. The same year, on October 12,1825, the Elkridge Landing postal stop was created, Elkridge has historic churches, including Melville Church on Furnace Avenue. Its original building was the first Methodist church built and was visited on the rides of Francis Asbury. Saint Augustine Church, on Old Washington Road, was built in 1845, Elkridge had a rich history of industries, including pig-iron forging, basket weaving, paper, cotton and grist milling, as well as employment from the B&O Railroad. The Thomas Viaduct, located over Levering Avenue at the entrance to the Patapsco Valley State Park, is the oldest multiple-arched curved stone railroad bridge in the world, built in 1833, its architect was Benjamin Latrobe, Jr. The B&O first used horse-drawn coaches in relays, hence Relay Station was added, the viaduct also carried the Tom Thumb, and the first telegraph message from Washington, D. C. stating What hath God wrought. was wired across. Elkridge did not escape the Civil War, some of these families had slaves. Their estate cottages were built along the top of the Lawyers Hill, including along Old Lawyers Hill Road and this community hall, built in 1871, was a neutral meeting place for entertainments for Northern and Southern sympathizers of the neighborhood and owned by them as stockholders. Neighbors did not betray neighbors and each protected others property from advancing troops, many homes remain, while others burned and have not been rebuilt, such Fairie Knowe in 1850 and 1900. The Lawyers Hill Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, the Washington Turnpike Road Company built what is now Washington Boulevard between 1796 and 1812, creating a major north–south land route that is now U. S. Route 1
4.
CSX Transportation
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CSX Transportation is a Class I railroad in the United States. The main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation, the railroad is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, CSX operates one of the three Class I railroads serving most of the East Coast, the other two being the Norfolk Southern Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway. It also serves the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, together CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway have a duopoly over all east-west freight rail traffic east of the Mississippi River. As of October 1,2014, CSXs total public stock value was slightly over $32 billion, CSX Transportation was formed on July 1,1986, by combining the Chessie System and Seaboard System Railroad. The origin of the Chessie System was the former Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, which had merged with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, on June 6,1998, the STB approved the CSX–NS application and set August 22,1998, as the effective date of its decision. CSX acquired 42 percent of Conrails assets, and NS received the remaining 58 percent, as a result of the transaction, CSXs rail operations grew to include some 3,800 miles of the Conrail system. CSX began operating its trains on its portion of the Conrail network on June 1,1999, CSX now serves much of the eastern U. S. with a few routes into nearby Canadian cities. The name came about during merger talks between Chessie System, Inc. and Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. commonly called Chessie, the company chairmen said it was important for the new name to include neither of those names because it was a partnership. Employees were asked for suggestions, most of which consisted of combinations of the initials, at the same time a temporary shorthand name was needed for discussions with the Interstate Commerce Commission. CSC was chosen but belonged to a company in Virginia. The lawyers decided to use CSX, and the name stuck, in the public announcement, it was said that CSX is singularly appropriate. C can stand for Chessie, S for Seaboard, and X, however, in the August 9,2016 article on the Railway Age website stated that. And the X was for Consolidated, the T had to be added to CSX when used as a reporting mark because reporting marks that end in X means that the car is owned by a leasing company or private car owner. Its current slogan, How Tomorrow Moves, appeared in 2008, in 2014 Canadian Pacific Railway approached CSX with an offer to merge the two companies, but CSX declined and in 2015 Canadian Pacific made an attempt to purchase and merge with Norfolk Southern. In 2017 CSX announced Hunter Harrison as its new chief executive, CSX added 5 new directors to their board, including Harrison and Mantle Ridge founder Paul Hilal. Mantle Ridge owns 4.9 percent of CSX, CSX operates two regions of five divisions each, the Northern, based in Calumet City, Illinois, and Southern, based in Jacksonville, Florida. The CEO of CSX is Hunter Harrison as of Feb 2017, o823, Q740 and Q741, Q743, and Q745—which consists of Tropicana cars that carry fresh orange juice between Bradenton, Florida, and the Greenville section of Jersey City, New Jersey. The train also runs from Bradenton to Fort Pierce, Florida, in the 21st century, the Juice Train has been studied as a model of efficient rail transportation that can compete with trucks and other modes in the perishable-goods trade
5.
National Register of Historic Places
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The National Register of Historic Places is the United States federal governments official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation. The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966 established the National Register, of the more than one million properties on the National Register,80,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources within historic districts, each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or by individual listings. For most of its history the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service and its goals are to help property owners and interest groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinate, identify, and protect historic sites in the United States. While National Register listings are mostly symbolic, their recognition of significance provides some financial incentive to owners of listed properties, protection of the property is not guaranteed. During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics of history and preservation, as well as the public and politicians. Occasionally, historic sites outside the proper, but associated with the United States are also listed. Properties can be nominated in a variety of forms, including individual properties, historic districts, the Register categorizes general listings into one of five types of properties, district, site, structure, building, or object. National Register Historic Districts are defined geographical areas consisting of contributing and non-contributing properties, some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they become administered by the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmarks, National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, National Military Parks/Battlefields, National Memorials, on October 15,1966, the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices. Initially, the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Registers creation, approval of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad-based historic preservation policy. To administer the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of the Interior, hartzog, Jr. established an administrative division named the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation. Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law, ernest Connally was the Offices first director. Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register, the first official Keeper of the Register was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian. During the Registers earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed, and underfunded. A few years later in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U. S. National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two Assistant Directorates. Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation, from 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service of the United States Department of the Interior. In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs, jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate
6.
Arch bridge
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An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side, a viaduct may be made from a series of arches, although other more economical structures are typically used today. Possibly the oldest existing bridge is the Mycenaean Arkadiko bridge in Greece from about 1300 BC. The stone corbel arch bridge is used by the local populace. The well-preserved Hellenistic Eleutherna Bridge has a corbel arch. The 4th century BC Rhodes Footbridge rests on an early voussoir arch, a more complete survey by the Italian scholar Vittorio Galliazzo found 931 Roman bridges, mostly of stone, in as many as 26 different countries. Roman arch bridges were usually semicircular, although a number were segmental arch bridges, generally, Roman bridges featured wedge-shaped primary arch stones of the same in size and shape. The Romans built both single spans and lengthy multiple arch aqueducts, such as the Pont du Gard and Segovia Aqueduct. Their bridges featured from an early time onwards flood openings in the piers, e. g. in the Pons Fabricius in Rome, Roman engineers were the first and until the industrial revolution the only ones to construct bridges with concrete, which they called Opus caementicium. The outside was covered with brick or ashlar, as in the Alcántara bridge. The Romans also introduced segmental arch bridges into bridge construction, trajans bridge over the Danube featured open-spandrel segmental arches made of wood. This was to be the longest arch bridge for a thousand years both in terms of overall and individual span length, while the longest extant Roman bridge is the 790 m long Puente Romano at Mérida. The late Roman Karamagara Bridge in Cappadocia may represent the earliest surviving bridge featuring a pointed arch, in medieval Europe, bridge builders improved on the Roman structures by using narrower piers, thinner arch barrels and lower span-rise ratios on bridges. Gothic pointed arches were introduced, reducing lateral thrust. The 14th century in particular saw bridge building reaching new heights, the bridge at Trezzo sullAdda, destroyed in the 15th century, even featured a span length of 72 m, not matched until 1796. Constructions such as the acclaimed Florentine segmental arch bridge Ponte Vecchio combined sound engineering with aesthetical appeal, the three elegant arches of the Renaissance Ponte Santa Trinita constitute the oldest elliptic arch bridge worldwide. In China, the oldest existing bridge is the Zhaozhou Bridge of 605 AD. The Zhaozhou Bridge, with a length of 167 feet and span of 123 feet, is the worlds first wholly stone open-spandrel segmental arch bridge, Bridges with perforated spandrels can be found worldwide, such as in China
7.
Benjamin Henry Latrobe II
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Benjamin Henry Latrobe, II was an American civil engineer, best known for his railway bridges, and a railway executive. The fire destroyed the Capitol and the Presidents House, along with most of the public buildings in the two-decade old national capital. He was also responsible for the construction of the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States and he married Maria Eleanor Ellen Hazlehurst on March 12,1833. Charles Hazelhurst Latrobe, a son, became a Confederate veteran, around 1820, Latrobe worked with his father to establish a water supply for New Orleans, Louisiana. He was hired on a crew for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the summer of 1830. In 1832, as assistant engineer, Latrobe surveyed and planned the route for the Washington Branch, for this route between Baltimore and Washington, D. C. he designed the Thomas Viaduct, which became the largest bridge in the United States when completed in 1835. The viaduct spans the Patapsco River between Relay and Elkridge, Maryland and he served as the project engineer and worked closely with the railroads construction chief, Caspar Wever. Nicknamed Latrobes Folly by those who doubted the massive structure could support itself, in 1835, he was appointed the chief engineer for the Baltimore and Port Deposit Railroad Company, which would help build the first rail link between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Latrobe returned to the B&O in 1836, along with Louis Wernwag, he designed the railroads first bridge across the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, which opened in 1837. In 1842, the B&O appointed him as Chief Engineer, succeeding his boss and he served in the position for 22 years. He was appointed to the concurrent position of superintendent of the B&O in 1847. He later became president of the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad, part of the B&Os Pittsburgh District. In the 1860s, Latrobe was an engineer for the Troy and Greenfield Railroad. Latrobe died in Baltimore on October 19,1878, family tree in Genealogisches Handbuch der baltischen Ritterschaften, Estland, Görlitz 1930
8.
National Historic Landmark
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A National Historic Landmark is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Of over 85,000 places listed on the countrys National Register of Historic Places, a National Historic Landmark District may include contributing properties that are buildings, structures, sites or objects, and it may include non-contributing properties. Contributing properties may or may not also be separately listed, prior to 1935, efforts to preserve cultural heritage of national importance were made by piecemeal efforts of the United States Congress. The first National Historic Site designation was made for the Salem Maritime National Historic Site on March 17,1938. In 1960, the National Park Service took on the administration of the data gathered under this legislation. Because listings often triggered local preservation laws, legislation in 1980 amended the procedures to require owner agreement to the designations. On October 9,1960,92 properties were announced as designated NHLs by Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton, more than 2,500 NHLs have been designated. Most, but not all, are in the United States, there are NHLs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Three states account for nearly 25 percent of the nations NHLs, three cities within these states all separately have more NHLs than 40 of the 50 states. In fact, New York City alone has more NHLs than all but five states, Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, there are 74 NHLs in the District of Columbia. Some NHLs are in U. S. commonwealths and territories, associated states, and foreign states. There are 15 in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other U. S. commonwealths and territories,5 in U. S. -associated states such as Micronesia, over 100 ships or shipwrecks have been designated as NHLs. About half of the National Historic Landmarks are privately owned, the National Historic Landmarks Program relies on suggestions for new designations from the National Park Service, which also assists in maintaining the landmarks. A friends group of owners and managers, the National Historic Landmark Stewards Association, works to preserve, protect, if not already listed on the National Register of Historic Places, an NHL is automatically added to the Register upon designation. About three percent of Register listings are NHLs, american Water Landmark List of U. S
9.
Arbutus, Maryland
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Arbutus is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 20,483 at the 2010 census, the census area also contains the communities of Halethorpe and Relay, in which all three names were used during the 1960 census when the area had a population of 22,402. Residents of Arbutus are often called Arbutians, the Thomas Viaduct railroad bridge over the Patapsco River was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. Arbutus is located at 39°14′40″N 76°41′38″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.5 square miles, all of it land. Herbert Run, a stream, runs through Arbutus and surrounding areas, as of the 2010 census Arbutus had a population of 20,483. As of the census of 2000, there were 20,116 people,8,120 households, the population density was 3,093.8 people per square mile. There were 8,380 housing units at a density of 1,288.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 85. 21% White,6. 27% African American,0. 28% Native American,6. 10% Asian,0. 02% Pacific Islander,0. 48% from other races, and 1. 63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1. 53% of the population,27. 6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9. 6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the family size was 2.99. In the CDP, the population was out with 22. 2% under the age of 18,8. 5% from 18 to 24,33. 5% from 25 to 44,21. 3% from 45 to 64. The median age was 37 years, for every 100 females there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males, the median income for a household in the CDP was $47,792, and the median income for a family was $54,003. Males had an income of $37,766 versus $29,129 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $22,456, about 4. 5% of families and 6. 8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6. 5% of those under age 18 and 6. 1% of those age 65 or over. Fire and emergency services are provided by the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department Baltimore County Station 35. This station provides fire protection, heavy rescue, swift water rescue, and paramedic-level emergency medical services to the citizens of Arbutus, mutual aid is provided by the surrounding Baltimore County stations as well as the Baltimore City and Howard County fire departments. Police protection is provided mainly by the Baltimore County Police Department, additional police service is provided by the Baltimore County Sheriffs Office, UMBC Police, Maryland State Police, and the Maryland Transportation Authority Police
10.
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
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The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. At first this railroad was located entirely in the state of Maryland with a line from the port of Baltimore west to Sandy Hook. At this point to continue westward, it had to cross into Virginia over the Potomac River, adjacent to the confluence of the Potomac, from there it was extended to the Ohio River at Wheeling and a few years later also to Parkersburg, West Virginia. It is now part of the CSX Transportation network, and includes the oldest operational railroad bridge in the USA, the B&O also included the Leiper Railroad, the first permanent horse-drawn railroad in the U. S. In later years, B&O advertising carried the motto, Linking 13 Great States with the Nation, the B&O Warehouse at the Camden Yards rail junction in Baltimore now dominates the view over the right-field wall at the Baltimore Orioles current home, Oriole Park at Camden Yards. At the end of 1970 B&O operated 5552 miles of road and 10449 miles of track, not including the Staten Island Rapid Transit or the Reading and its subsidiaries. The fast-growing port city of Baltimore, Maryland faced economic stagnation unless it opened routes to the western states, as New York had done with the Erie Canal in 1820. In 1827, twenty-five merchants and bankers studied the best means of restoring that portion of the Western trade which has recently been diverted from it by the introduction of steam navigation and their answer was to build a railroad—one of the first commercial lines in the world. Two men — Philip E. Thomas and George Brown — were the pioneers of the railroad and they spent the year 1826 investigating railway enterprises in England, which were at that time being tested in a comprehensive fashion as commercial ventures. Their investigation completed, they held a meeting on February 12,1827, including about twenty-five citizens. Thomas was elected as the first president and Brown the treasurer, the capital of the proposed company was fixed at five million dollars, but the B&O was initially capitalized in 1827 with a three million dollar issue of stock. Virtually every citizen of Baltimore owned a share, as the offering was oversubscribed, construction began on July 4,1828, when Charles Carroll of Carrollton did the groundbreaking. The initial tracks were built with granite stringers topped by iron rails. The first section, from Baltimore west to Ellicotts Mills, opened on May 24,1830. Developers decided to follow the Patapsco River to a point near Parrs Ridge, a later compromise allowed the two companies to share the right of way. The State of Maryland granted the B&O a charter to build a line from Baltimore to Washington, D. C. in 1831, and the Washington Branch was opened in 1835. This line joined to the mainline at Relay, Maryland, crossing the Patapsco on the Thomas Viaduct. This line was funded by the state, and was operated separately until the 1870s
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