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Using Hierarchical Temporal Memory For Detecting Anomalous Network Activity, Gerod M. Bonhoff Mar 2008

Using Hierarchical Temporal Memory For Detecting Anomalous Network Activity, Gerod M. Bonhoff

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the nature of cyberspace and forms an argument for it as an intangible world. This research is motivated by the notion of creating intelligently autonomous cybercraft to reside in that environment and maintain domain superiority. Specifically, this paper offers 7 challenges associated with development of intelligent, autonomous cybercraft. The primary focus is an analysis of the claims of a machine learning language called Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM). In particular, HTM theory claims to facilitate intelligence in machines via accurate predictions. It further claims to be able to make accurate predictions of unusual worlds, like cyberspace. The research …

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What Constitutes An Act Of War In Cyberspace, Kelli S. Kinley Mar 2008

What Constitutes An Act Of War In Cyberspace, Kelli S. Kinley

Theses and Dissertations

In December 2005 a new mission statement was released by the Air Force Leadership, "to deliver sovereign options for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests...to fly and fight in Air, Space and Cyberspace." (Wynne & Mosley, 2005) With the stand up of the AFCYBER command and the use of cyberspace to carry out our daily mission the U.S. needs to have a clear understanding of what war in cyberspace looks like and what the laws are governing war in cyberspace. This research and it's resulting data analysis is intended to provide a better understanding …

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An Evaluation And Implementation Guide For Current Groundwater Mass Flux Measurement Practices, Jack G. Wheeldon Iii Mar 2008

An Evaluation And Implementation Guide For Current Groundwater Mass Flux Measurement Practices, Jack G. Wheeldon Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Contaminant mass flux is an important parameter needed for decision making at sites with contaminated groundwater. New and potentially better methods for measuring mass flux are emerging. This study looks at the conventional transect method (TM), and the newer passive flux meter (PFM), modified integral pump test (MIPT), and tandem circulating well (TCW) methods. In order to facilitate transfer and application of these innovative technologies, it is essential that potential technology users have access to credible information that addresses technology capabilities, limitations, and costs. This study provides such information on each of the methods by reviewing implementation practices and comparing …

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Terahertz Imaging System Performance Model For Concealed-Weapon Identification, Steven R. Murrill, Eddie L. Jacobs, Steven K. Moyer, Carl E. Halford, Steven T. Griffin, Frank C. De Lucia, Douglas T. Petkie, Charmaine C. Franck Mar 2008

Terahertz Imaging System Performance Model For Concealed-Weapon Identification, Steven R. Murrill, Eddie L. Jacobs, Steven K. Moyer, Carl E. Halford, Steven T. Griffin, Frank C. De Lucia, Douglas T. Petkie, Charmaine C. Franck

Physics Faculty Publications

The U.S. Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have developed a terahertz (THz) -band imaging system performance model for detection and identification of concealed weaponry. The MATLAB-based model accounts for the effects of all critical sensor and display components and for the effects of atmospheric attenuation, concealment material attenuation, and active illumination. The model is based on recent U.S. Army NVESD sensor performance modeling technology that couples system design parameters to observer–sensor field performance by using the acquire methodology for weapon identification performance predictions. This THz model has been developed in support …

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Software Assurance Best Practices For Air Force Weapon And Information Technology Systems - Are We Bleeding?, Ryan A. Maxon Mar 2008

Software Assurance Best Practices For Air Force Weapon And Information Technology Systems - Are We Bleeding?, Ryan A. Maxon

Theses and Dissertations

In the corporate world, "bits mean money," and as the Department of Defense (DoD) becomes more and more reliant on net-centric warfare, bits mean national security. Software security threats are very real, as demonstrated by the constant barrage of Internet viruses, worms, Trojans, and hackers seeking to exploit the latest vulnerability. Most organizations focus their resources on reactive defenses such as firewalls, antivirus software, and encryption, however as demonstrated by the numerous attacks that are successful, those post facto measures are not enough to stop the bleeding. The DoD defines software assurance (SwA) as the "level of confidence that software …

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Industrial Espionage From Residual Data: Risks And Countermeasures, Iain Sutherland Mar 2008

Industrial Espionage From Residual Data: Risks And Countermeasures, Iain Sutherland

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

This paper outlines the possible recovery of potentially sensitive corporate information from residual data. It outlines previous work on the recovery of information contained on second hand hard disks and handheld devices and discusses the risk of individuals conducting industrial espionage by targeting specific organizations. It examines the possible avenues for an attacker to obtain a storage device, then discusses the skill level required to extract information from the storage devices and considers the potential risk to an organization from this particular avenue of attack. The paper concludes by proposing a number of possible countermeasures to enable organizations to reduce …

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Developing A Reference Framework For Cybercraft Trust Evaluation, Shannon E. Hunt Mar 2008

Developing A Reference Framework For Cybercraft Trust Evaluation, Shannon E. Hunt

Theses and Dissertations

It should be no surprise that Department of Defense (DoD) and U.S. Air Force (USAF) networks are the target of constant attack. As a result, network defense remains a high priority for cyber warriors. On the technical side, trust issues for a comprehensive end-to-end network defense solution are abundant and involve multiple layers of complexity. The Air Force Research Labs (AFRL) is currently investigating the feasibility of a holistic approach to network defense, called Cybercraft. We envision Cybercraft to be trusted computer entities that cooperate with other Cybercraft to provide autonomous and responsive network defense services. A top research goal …

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A Hybrid Communications Network Simulation-Independent Toolkit, David M. Dines Mar 2008

A Hybrid Communications Network Simulation-Independent Toolkit, David M. Dines

Theses and Dissertations

Net-centric warfare requires information superiority to enable decision superiority, culminating in insurmountable combat power against our enemies on the battlefield. Information superiority must be attained and retained for success in today’s joint/coalition battlespace. To accomplish this goal, our combat networks must reliably, expediently and completely deliver over a wide range of mobile and fixed assets. Furthermore, each asset must be given special consideration for the sensitivity, priority and volume of information required by the mission. Evolving a grand design of the enabling network will require a flexible evaluation platform to try and select the right combination of network strategies and …

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Feasibility Study Of Encoding Operational Mission Metadata Into Ipv6 Packet Headers, Timothy R. Policarpio Mar 2008

Feasibility Study Of Encoding Operational Mission Metadata Into Ipv6 Packet Headers, Timothy R. Policarpio

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to determine the feasibility of using the header fields and header extensions of IPv6 packets to encode mission metadata into computer network streams. Specifically, this thesis seeks to answer several research questions addressing the performance of different packet header encoding methods, specifically which method provides the least end-to-end delay of a file transfer over a hypothetical network as well as which method produces the least amount of additional network overhead during its operation in the hypothetical network. The research questions are answered through a comprehensive literature review and with the use of several network …

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Three-Dimensional Structure Of Conotoxin Tx3a: A M-1 Branch Peptide Of The M-Superfamily, Owen M. Mcdougal, Matthew W. Turner, Andrew J. Ormond, C. Dale Poulter Mar 2008

Three-Dimensional Structure Of Conotoxin Tx3a: A M-1 Branch Peptide Of The M-Superfamily, Owen M. Mcdougal, Matthew W. Turner, Andrew J. Ormond, C. Dale Poulter

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The M-superfamily, one of eight major conotoxin superfamilies found in the venom of the cone snail, contains a Cys framework with disulfide-linked loops labeled 1, 2, and 3 (- CC1C2C3CC-). M-superfamily conotoxins can be divided into the m-1, -2, -3 and -4 branches, based upon the number of residues located in the third Cys loop between the fourth and fifth Cys residues. Here we provide a three-dimensional solution structure for the m-1 conotoxin tx3a found in the venom of Conus textile. The 15 amino acid peptide, CCSWDVCDHPSCTCC, has disulfide bonds between Cys1 …

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Exploitation Of Self Organization In Uav Swarms For Optimization In Combat Environments, Dustin J. Nowak Mar 2008

Exploitation Of Self Organization In Uav Swarms For Optimization In Combat Environments, Dustin J. Nowak

Theses and Dissertations

This investigation focuses primarily on the development of effective target engagement for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms using autonomous self-organized cooperative control. This development required the design of a new abstract UAV swarm control model which flows from an abstract Markov structure, a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process. Self-organization features, bio-inspired attack concepts, evolutionary computation (multi-objective genetic algorithms, differential evolution), and feedback from environmental awareness are instantiated within this model. The associated decomposition technique focuses on the iterative deconstruction of the problem domain state and dynamically building-up of self organizational rules as related to the problem domain environment. Resulting emergent …

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Collision Avoidance For Uavs Using Optic Flow Measurement With Line Of Sight Rate Equalization And Looming, Paul J. Shelnutt Mar 2008

Collision Avoidance For Uavs Using Optic Flow Measurement With Line Of Sight Rate Equalization And Looming, Paul J. Shelnutt

Theses and Dissertations

A series of simplified scenarios is investigated whereby an optical flow balancing guidance law is used to avoid obstacles by steering an air vehicle between fixed objects/obstacles. These obstacles are registered as specific points that can be representative of features in a scene. The obstacles appear in the field of view of a single forward looking camera. First a 2-D analysis is presented where the rate of the line of sight from the vehicle to each of the obstacles to be avoided is measured. The analysis proceeds by initially using no field of view (FOV) limitations, then applying FOV restrictions, …

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A Secure Group Communication Architecture For A Swarm Of Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Adrian N. Phillips Mar 2008

A Secure Group Communication Architecture For A Swarm Of Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Adrian N. Phillips

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the application of a secure group communication architecture to a swarm of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). A multicast secure group communication architecture for the low earth orbit (LEO) satellite environment is evaluated to determine if it can be effectively adapted to a swarm of UAVs and provide secure, scalable, and efficient communications. The performance of the proposed security architecture is evaluated with two other commonly used architectures using a discrete event computer simulation developed using MatLab. Performance is evaluated in terms of the scalability and efficiency of the group key distribution and management scheme when the …

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Dod Role For Securing United States Cyberspace, Jane J. Griffin Mar 2008

Dod Role For Securing United States Cyberspace, Jane J. Griffin

Theses and Dissertations

The cyber attacks on Estonia in late April and the early weeks of May 2007 significantly crippled the country, preventing it from performing banking, communications, news reporting, government transactions and command and control activities. Estonia is considered a “Wired Society”, much like the United States. Both countries rely on the cyberspace infrastructure economically and politically. Estonia sought assistance outside the country to recover from and to address the attacks. The cyber attacks on Estonia focused world-wide attention on the effects that cyberspace attacks could have on countries. If a cyber attack of national significance occurred against the United States, what …

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Comparative Kinetics And Distribution To Target Tissues Of Organophosphates Using Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling, Rick E. Vermillion Mar 2008

Comparative Kinetics And Distribution To Target Tissues Of Organophosphates Using Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling, Rick E. Vermillion

Theses and Dissertations

A physiologically-based pharmacokinetic model has been developed to examine the effects of organophosphates on the levels of acetylcholine in different tissues throughout the mammalian body. Many organophosphate-like chemical and kinetic characteristics are tested without reference to a specific chemical. Characteristics include partition coefficients, metabolic constants, the inhibition coefficient, the aging rate, and the regeneration rate. Two separate exposure scenarios are tested and compared against a baseline. The baseline consists of a direct inhalation exposure. The first exposure scenario examines the effects of bronchial scrubbing (via inhalation) and the second scenario is a study of dermal exposures and compares the levels …

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Dynamic Protocol Reverse Engineering A Grammatical Inference Approach, Mark E. Deyoung Mar 2008

Dynamic Protocol Reverse Engineering A Grammatical Inference Approach, Mark E. Deyoung

Theses and Dissertations

Round trip engineering of software from source code and reverse engineering of software from binary files have both been extensively studied and the state-of-practice have documented tools and techniques. Forward engineering of protocols has also been extensively studied and there are firmly established techniques for generating correct protocols. While observation of protocol behavior for performance testing has been studied and techniques established, reverse engineering of protocol control flow from observations of protocol behavior has not received the same level of attention. State-of-practice in reverse engineering the control flow of computer network protocols is comprised of mostly ad hoc approaches. We …

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Signal Processing Design Of Low Probability Of Intercept Waveforms, Nathaniel C. Liefer Mar 2008

Signal Processing Design Of Low Probability Of Intercept Waveforms, Nathaniel C. Liefer

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates a modification to Differential Phase Shift Keyed (DPSK) modulation to create a Low Probability of Interception/Exploitation (LPI/LPE) communications signal. A pseudorandom timing offset is applied to each symbol in the communications stream to intentionally create intersymbol interference (ISI) that hinders accurate symbol estimation and bit sequence recovery by a non-cooperative receiver. Two cooperative receiver strategies are proposed to mitigate the ISI due to symbol timing offset: a modified minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) equalization algorithm and a multiplexed bank of equalizer filters determined by an adaptive Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm. Both cooperative receivers require some knowledge …

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Identification Of Command And Control Information Requirements For The Cyberspace Domain, Brian D. Aschenbrenner Mar 2008

Identification Of Command And Control Information Requirements For The Cyberspace Domain, Brian D. Aschenbrenner

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop an information requirements analysis method that would provide the Director of Cyberspace Forces with the information required to support effective command and control of cyberspace. This research investigates the role of information in command and control, information in the traditional war fighting domains, cyberspace as a war fighting domain, and various methods of determining information requirements of organizations. This research produced an information requirements analysis method that is suitable for identifying the command and control information requirements of the Director of Cyberspace Forces.

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Cyber Flag: A Realistic Cyberspace Training Construct, Andrew P. Hansen Mar 2008

Cyber Flag: A Realistic Cyberspace Training Construct, Andrew P. Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

As is well understood, the rapidly unfolding challenges of cyberspace is a fundamental warfare paradigm shift revolutionizing the way future wars will be fought and won. A significant test for the Air Force (indeed any organization with a credible presence in cyberspace) will be providing a realistic training environment that fully meets this challenge. Why create another Flag level exercise? Realistic training (that which is effective, comprehensive and coordinated) is crucial to success in time of war. Red Flag provides dominant training within the air domain and now with the evolution of cyberspace, a comprehensive training environment is necessary to …

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Pathoecology And The Future Of Coprolite Studies In Bioarchaeology, Karl J. Reinhard, Vaughn M. Bryant Jr. Feb 2008

Pathoecology And The Future Of Coprolite Studies In Bioarchaeology, Karl J. Reinhard, Vaughn M. Bryant Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Human coprolites currently provide an expanding array of information about the diet, health, and ecology of prehistoric people in the Southwest, but for many years coprolites were not recognized or preserved, or they were not considered important and thus were not saved (Bryant and Dean 2006). With the expansion of archaeological field work during the last half of the twentieth century archaeologists have increasingly explored the “complete” potentials of sites, including the collection and analysis of geomorphologic, botanical, and faunal data. In some ideal habitats (e.g., very dry or frozen) this includes exploring the scientific potential of human coprolite studies. …

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Dealing With The Malicious Insider, Andy Jones, Carl Colwill Jan 2008

Dealing With The Malicious Insider, Andy Jones, Carl Colwill

Australian Information Security Management Conference

This paper looks at a number of issues relating to the malicious insider and the nature of motivation, loyalty and the type of attacks that occur. The paper also examines the changing environmental, social, cultural and business issues that have resulted in an increased exposure to the insider threat. The paper then discusses a range of measures that can be taken to reduce both the likelihood of an attack and the impact that such an attack may have. These measures should be driven by focused and effective risk management processes.

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Organisational Security Requirements:An Agile Approach To Ubiquitous Information Security, A B. Ruighaver Jan 2008

Organisational Security Requirements:An Agile Approach To Ubiquitous Information Security, A B. Ruighaver

Australian Information Security Management Conference

This paper proposes to address the need for more innovation in organisational information security by adding a security requirement engineering focus. Based on the belief that any heavyweight security requirements process in organisational security will be doomed to fail, we developed a security requirement approach with three dimensions. The use of a simple security requirements process in the first dimension has been augmented by an agile security approach. However, introducing this second dimension of agile security does provide support for, but does not necessarily stimulate, innovation. A third dimension is, therefore, needed to ensure there is a proper focus in …

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Enhanced Security For Preventing Man-In-The-Middle Attacks In Authentication, Dataentry And Transaction Verification, Jason Wells, Damien Hutchinson, Justin Pierce Jan 2008

Enhanced Security For Preventing Man-In-The-Middle Attacks In Authentication, Dataentry And Transaction Verification, Jason Wells, Damien Hutchinson, Justin Pierce

Australian Information Security Management Conference

There is increasing coverage in the literature highlighting threats to online financial systems. Attacks range from the prevalent reverse social engineering technique known as phishing; where spam emails are sent to customers with links to fake websites, to Trojans that monitor a customer’s account log on process that captures authentication details that are later replayed for financial gain. This ultimately results in loss of monetary funds for affected victims. As technological advances continue to influence the way society makes payment for goods and services, the requirement for more advanced security approaches for transaction verification in the online environment increases. This …

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Securing A Wireless Network With Eap-Tls: Perception And Realities Of Its Implementation, Brett Turner, Andrew Woodward Jan 2008

Securing A Wireless Network With Eap-Tls: Perception And Realities Of Its Implementation, Brett Turner, Andrew Woodward

Australian Information Security Management Conference

In the arena of wireless security, EAP-TLS is considered one of the most secure protocols. However since its inception the uptake has been poor and the investigation into the reasons for this are sparse. There is an industry perception that EAP-TLS is complex as well as difficult to configure and manage. One of the major barriers is in the use of public key infrastructure and the perceived difficulties in its application. The paper discusses why it is seemingly difficult to implement and how this may differ from the reality of its implementation. This premise is investigated using Windows Server 2003 …

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Adding Simple Simulations To Video Games To Improve Realism, Leonard Kinnaird-Heether Jan 2008

Adding Simple Simulations To Video Games To Improve Realism, Leonard Kinnaird-Heether

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In this paper a method of enhancing the realism of certain computer game types, particularly First Person Shooter games, is explored by attempting to include intelligent neutral background characters to the game environment. This method also requires that the inclusion of these background characters will not adversely affect the performance of a game by drastically increasing the computational complexity of the game. A simulation was created to show how this can be done using a group of intelligent agents based in a simulated world, and a simplified system of norms designed to influence the agents’ behavior. The agents are designed …

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Information Sharing Solutions For Nato Headquarters, Wade Alarie Jan 2008

Information Sharing Solutions For Nato Headquarters, Wade Alarie

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

NATO is an Alliance of 26 nations that operates on a consensus basis, not a majority basis. Thorough and timely information exchange between nations is fundamental to the Business Process. Current technology and practices at NATO HQ are inadequate to meet modern-day requirements despite the availability of demonstrated and accredited Cross-Domain technology solutions. This lack of integration between networks is getting more complicated with time, as nations continue to invest in IT and ignore the requirements for inter-networked gateways. This contributes to inefficiencies, fostering an atmosphere where shortcuts are taken in order to get the job done. The author recommends …

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Ua66/1/5 Icset - Institute For Combustion Science & Environmental Technology, Wku Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Jan 2008

Ua66/1/5 Icset - Institute For Combustion Science & Environmental Technology, Wku Ogden College Of Science & Engineering

WKU Administration Documents

History and overview of the work of the WKU Institute for Combustion Science & Environmental Technology through 2008.

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Synthesis And Characterization Of Acylphosphine Oxide Photoinitiators, Hany F. Sobhi Jan 2008

Synthesis And Characterization Of Acylphosphine Oxide Photoinitiators, Hany F. Sobhi

ETD Archive

Recently, polymerization science has assumed an increasing relevance in many applications, including orthopedic and dental biomaterials. Current technologies are based on the use of photochemically reactive systems, which are suited to absorb light to produce primary radical species capable of initiating polymerization. Acylphosphine oxides and acylphosphonates are known to be very effective photoinitiators for various unsaturated polymeric systems. The high reactivity observed was ascribed to the phosphinyl and phosphinoyl radicals generated. Because of the poor qualities of other initiators, we examined new routes to synthesize acylphosphine oxide initiators to achieve compatibility with aqueous media and improved performance. The preparation and …

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Strategic Importance Of Higher Education And Research In Positioning Gujarat For Global Competitiveness, Amit P. Sheth Jan 2008

Strategic Importance Of Higher Education And Research In Positioning Gujarat For Global Competitiveness, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

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Multi-Algorithmic Cryptography Using Deterministic Chaos With Applications To Mobile Communications, Jonathan Blackledge Jan 2008

Multi-Algorithmic Cryptography Using Deterministic Chaos With Applications To Mobile Communications, Jonathan Blackledge

Articles

In this extended paper, we present an overview of the principal issues associated with cryptography, providing historically significant examples for illustrative purposes as part of a short tutorial for readers that are not familiar with the subject matter. This is used to introduce the role that nonlinear dynamics and chaos play in the design of encryption engines which utilize different types of Iteration Function Systems (IFS). The design of such encryption engines requires that they conform to the principles associated with diffusion and confusion for generating ciphers that are of a maximum entropy type. For this reason, the role of …

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