Faces and bodies convey important information for the identification of potential sexual partners... more Faces and bodies convey important information for the identification of potential sexual partners, yet clothing typically covers many of the bodily cues relevant for mating and reproduction. In this eye tracking study, we assessed how men and women viewed nude and clothed, same and opposite gender human figures. We found that participants inspected the nude bodies more thoroughly. First fixations landed almost always on the face, but were subsequently followed by viewing of the chest and pelvic regions. When viewing nude images, fixations were biased away from the face towards the chest and pelvic regions. Fixating these regions was also associated with elevated physiological arousal. Overall, men spent more time looking at female than male stimuli, whereas women looked equally long at male and female stimuli. In comparison to women, men spent relatively more time looking at the chests of nude female stimuli whereas women spent more time looking at the pelvic/genital region of male stimuli. We propose that the augmented and gender-contingent visual scanning of nude bodies reflects selective engagement of the visual attention circuits upon perception of signals relevant to choosing a sexual partner, which supports mating and reproduction.
Currently, data on sexual abuse and its consequences for the victims are scarce in Germany, espec... more Currently, data on sexual abuse and its consequences for the victims are scarce in Germany, especially for non-reported sexual abuse, the so-called "Dunkelfeld". This article presents a comprehensive research project, which started in 2011 and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Family, Elderly, Women and Youth. This Project covers the frequency of sexual abuse, in comparison to other forms of abuse, of offences via the internet, consequences of sexual abuse for the victims, the prevalence of pedophilic interest, etiological hypotheses for pedophilic interest, and the relation between hands-on delinquency and use of child pornography. The described research project will be implemented by a collaboration of five national and international research groups during the following three years. The main goals are to generate more specific and detailed data on child sexual abuse in Germany and to develop suggestions for primary as well as secondary prevention. Sexual abuse of children and adolescents can lead to substantial mental injuries within the victims and can be accompanied by severe social consequences. On this account, the evaluation of the origins of sexual abuse is of great interest. Therefore, it is intended to evaluate the frequency of sexual abuse, its consequences for the victims, the prevalence and etiology of pedophilic interests, as well as the influence of the so-called "new media" (e.g., internet) concerning sexual abuse in the course of a joint research project sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Family, Elderly, Women and Youth. This will be followed by developing appropriate prevention strategies. The acronym "MiKADO" represents the first letters of the project topics: MiKADO = "Missbrauch von Kindern: Ätiologie, Dunkelfeld und Opfer" ("Sexual abuse of children: etiology, Dunkelfeld and victims").
It is expected that in humans, the lowered fitness of inbred offspring has produced a sexual aver... more It is expected that in humans, the lowered fitness of inbred offspring has produced a sexual aversion between close relatives. Generally, the strength of this aversion depends on the degree of relatedness between two individuals, with closer relatives inciting greater aversion than more distant relatives. Individuals are also expected to oppose acts of inbreeding that do not include the self, as inbreeding between two individuals posits fitness costs not only to the individuals involved in the sexual act, but also to their biological relatives. Thus, the strength of inbreeding aversion should be predicted by the fitness costs an inbred child posits to a given individual, irrespective of this individual's actual involvement in the sexual act. To test this prediction, we obtained information about the family structures of 663 participants, who reported the number of same-sex siblings, opposite-sex siblings, opposite-sex half siblings and opposite-sex cousins. Each participant was presented with three different types of inbreeding scenarios: 1) Participant descriptions, in which participants themselves were described as having sex with an actual opposite-sex relative (sibling, half sibling, or cousin); 2) Related third-party descriptions, in which participants' actual same-sex siblings were described as having sex with their actual opposite-sex relatives; 3) Unrelated third-party descriptions, in which individuals of the same sex as the participants but unrelated to them were described as having sex with opposite-sex relatives. Participants rated each description on the strength of sexual aversion (i.e., disgust-reaction). We found that unrelated third-party descriptions elicited less disgust than related third-party and participant descriptions. Related third-party and participant descriptions elicited similar levels of disgust suggesting that the strength of inbreeding aversion is predicted by inclusive fitness costs. Further, in the related and unrelated conditions alike, the strength of inbreeding aversion was positively associated with the degree of relatedness between those described in the descriptions.
Objective: Our main aim was to investigate the factor structure of the Alcohol Use Disorders Iden... more Objective: Our main aim was to investigate the factor structure of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in a Finnish population sample. Method: The AUDIT was completed by 3,125 men (mean age = 26.2 years) and 6,006 women (mean age = 26.1 years). Results: At a cutoff score of 8 or more, 49.8% of the men and 23.9% of the women would be identified as potentially engaged in excessive alcohol use. Exploratory factor analyses suggested a two-factor solution for both men and women. However, the factor structure was not invariant between men and women or in the different age groups among men. Conclusions: This is one of the largest known general population studies on alcohol use in recent years in Finland. The findings support a two-factor solution, and it is suggested that the AUDIT cutoff scores should be tailored according to age, gender, and drinking culture.
Introduction. Sexual interest in children resembles sexual gender orientation in terms of early o... more Introduction. Sexual interest in children resembles sexual gender orientation in terms of early onset and stability across the life span. Although a genetic component to sexual interest in children seems possible, no research has addressed this question to date. Prior research showing familial transmission of pedophilia remains inconclusive about shared environmental or genetic factors. Studies from the domains of sexual orientation and sexually problematic behavior among children pointed toward genetic components. Adult men's sexual interest in youthfulness-related cues may be genetically influenced. Aim. The aim of the present study was to test whether male sexual interest in children and youth under age 16 involves a heritable component. Main Outcome Measures. The main outcome measure was responses in a confidential survey concerning sexual interest, fantasies, or activity pertaining to children under the age of 16 years during the previous 12 months. Methods. The present study used an extended family design within behavioral genetic modeling to estimate the contributions of genetic and environmental factors in the occurrence of adult men's sexual interest in children and youth under age 16. Participants were male twins and their male siblings from a population-based Finnish cohort sample aged 21–43 years (N = 3,967). Results. The incidence of sexual interest in children under age was 3%. Twin correlations were higher for monozy-gotic than for dizygotic twins. Behavioral genetic model fitting indicated that a model including genetic effects as well as nonshared environmental influences (including measurement error), but not common environmental influences , fits the data best. The amount of variance attributable to nonadditive genetic influences (heritability) was estimated at 14.6%. Conclusions. The present study provides the first indication that genetic influences may play a role in shaping sexual interest toward children and adolescents among adult men. Compared with the variance attributable to nonshared environmental effects (plus measurement error), the contribution of any genetic factors seems comparatively weak. Future research should address the possible interplay of genetic with environmental risk factors, such as own sexual victimization in childhood. Alanko K, Salo B, Mokros A, and Santtila P. Evidence for heritability of adult men's sexual interest in youth under age 16 from a population-based extended twin design.
Introduction: Correct inhaler technique and device preference are positively correlated with impr... more Introduction: Correct inhaler technique and device preference are positively correlated with improved adherence and clinical outcomes. This study was designed to investigate inhaler technique mastery and device preference for three different dry powder inhalers, Spiromax, Easyhaler and Turbuhaler.
Experiencing emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse in childhood increases the risk (compared w... more Experiencing emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse in childhood increases the risk (compared with baseline) of developing psychopathological symptoms in adulthood. In the present study, we explored the effects of experiencing only a single abusive event on adulthood psychopathology, and compared this with the risk in individuals with no abusive experiences and with the risk in individuals with several abusive experiences. We used a Finnish population-based sample of 10,980 adult participants (3,766 male and 7,214 female twins and their siblings). The participants reported abuse experiences using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and current psychopathology symptoms using the depression and anxiety scales of the Brief Symptom Inventory–18 (BSI-18). We found that in both men and women even single experiences of emotional and sexual abuse were associated with increased psychopathology symptoms compared with no abuse experiences. Single experiences of physical abuse did not, however, increase the risk in either women or men. As expected, experiences of repeated abuse (of all abuse types) increased the risk of psychopathology symptoms compared with
Cognition research suggests that allocating attention resources to evolutionarily relevant stimul... more Cognition research suggests that allocating attention resources to evolutionarily relevant stimuli is facilitated suggesting that sexual stimuli interfere with human information processing. In a group of gay (n = 13) and straight men (n = 13) recruited in Finland, Germany and Italy, we investigated if and how sexually relevant visual stimuli affect information processing of both a target one (T1) and a subsequent target two (T2) in a dual target rapid serial visual presentation procedure. We hypothesized that: (1) due to the attentional blink (AB) phenomenon, the accuracy of reporting of T2 would decrease when following accurately identified sexually preferred T1 compared to accurately identified non-sexually preferred T1; 2) due to the pop out effect, the accuracy of reporting of T1 and T2 would be relatively increased when T1 and T2 were sexually preferred by the participants compared to when they were not. Our findings did not support hypothesis 1 but supported hypothesis 2. We further found that the pop out effect had a good capacity to differentiate sexual preference between the groups of gay and straight men. We conclude that dual target rapid serial visual presentation can be used as an attention-based measurement to differentiate sexual preference in men. Limitations and the applicability in the field of measuring sexual preference were discussed.
A Child Sexual Abuse Attitude and Belief Scale was constructed and then answered by 242 child psy... more A Child Sexual Abuse Attitude and Belief Scale was constructed and then answered by 242 child psychologists. Four CSA related attitude and belief subscales were identified through confirmatory factor analysis: (1) The Disclosure subscale reflecting favouring a disclosure at any cost; (2) The Pro-Child subscale reflecting unconditional belief in children's reports; (3) The Intuition subscale reflecting favouring an intuitive approach to CSA investigations; and (4) The Anti Criminal Justice System subscale reflecting negative attitudes towards the legal system. Beliefs that were erroneous according to empirical research were analyzed separately. The results suggest that some psychologists hold extreme attitudes and many erroneous beliefs related to CSA. Some misconceptions are common. Female participants tended to have stronger attitudes than male participants. The more training in interviewing children the participants had had, the more erroneous beliefs and stronger attitudes they had. Experience did not affect attitudes and beliefs.
The present study aimed to investigate prevalence of and reasons for selective serotonin reuptake... more The present study aimed to investigate prevalence of and reasons for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) discontinuation, and compare the two most common SSRIs used in premature ejaculation (PE) treatment, in naturalistic settings (that is, outside clinical trials). The sample consisted of 132 Finnish men with a mean age of 42.5 years (s.d. = 10.6) who had received medical treatment for lifelong PE. The men were enlisted for the study after identifying individuals from the third author's (a physician specializing in sexual medicine) patient registry. Participants responded to a secure, online questionnaire. PE treatment-related side effects of, and discontinuation rates for, different SSRIs were retrospectively self-reported. Treatment efficacy and happiness with treatment were retrospectively self-assessed. Discontinuation rates were uniformly high, ranging from 28.8 to 70.6% between different SSRIs. Dapoxetine was associated with the highest dropout rates (70.6%), and paroxetine the lowest, discontinuation rates. Limited efficacy and side effects were the most common reasons for discontinuation. Paroxetine was more effective and better tolerated than dapoxetine. A considerable number of patients chose to spontaneously discontinue treatment, especially so in the case of dapoxetine, corroborating recent studies conducted in naturalistic settings. Further research efforts are necessary to develop new and improve existing PE treatment alternatives.
We explored if the disposition to react with aggression while alcohol intoxicated was moderated b... more We explored if the disposition to react with aggression while alcohol intoxicated was moderated by polymor-phic variants of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR). Twelve OXTR polymorphisms were genotyped in 116 Finnish men [aged 18–30, M = 22.7, standard deviation (SD) = 2.4] who were randomly assigned to an alcohol condition in which they received an alcohol dose of 0.7 g pure ethanol/kg body weight or a placebo condition. Aggressive behavior was measured using a laboratory paradigm in which it was operationalized as the level of aversive noise administered to a fictive opponent. No main effects of the polymorphisms on aggressive behavior were found after controlling for multiple testing. The interactive effects between alcohol and two of the OXTR polymorphisms (rs4564970 and rs1488467) on aggressive behavior were nominally significant and remained significant for the rs4564970 when controlled for multiple tests. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental study suggesting interactive effects of specific genetic variants and alcohol on aggressive behavior in humans.
Faces and bodies convey important information for the identification of potential sexual partners... more Faces and bodies convey important information for the identification of potential sexual partners, yet clothing typically covers many of the bodily cues relevant for mating and reproduction. In this eye tracking study, we assessed how men and women viewed nude and clothed, same and opposite gender human figures. We found that participants inspected the nude bodies more thoroughly. First fixations landed almost always on the face, but were subsequently followed by viewing of the chest and pelvic regions. When viewing nude images, fixations were biased away from the face towards the chest and pelvic regions. Fixating these regions was also associated with elevated physiological arousal. Overall, men spent more time looking at female than male stimuli, whereas women looked equally long at male and female stimuli. In comparison to women, men spent relatively more time looking at the chests of nude female stimuli whereas women spent more time looking at the pelvic/genital region of male stimuli. We propose that the augmented and gender-contingent visual scanning of nude bodies reflects selective engagement of the visual attention circuits upon perception of signals relevant to choosing a sexual partner, which supports mating and reproduction.
Currently, data on sexual abuse and its consequences for the victims are scarce in Germany, espec... more Currently, data on sexual abuse and its consequences for the victims are scarce in Germany, especially for non-reported sexual abuse, the so-called "Dunkelfeld". This article presents a comprehensive research project, which started in 2011 and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Family, Elderly, Women and Youth. This Project covers the frequency of sexual abuse, in comparison to other forms of abuse, of offences via the internet, consequences of sexual abuse for the victims, the prevalence of pedophilic interest, etiological hypotheses for pedophilic interest, and the relation between hands-on delinquency and use of child pornography. The described research project will be implemented by a collaboration of five national and international research groups during the following three years. The main goals are to generate more specific and detailed data on child sexual abuse in Germany and to develop suggestions for primary as well as secondary prevention. Sexual abuse of children and adolescents can lead to substantial mental injuries within the victims and can be accompanied by severe social consequences. On this account, the evaluation of the origins of sexual abuse is of great interest. Therefore, it is intended to evaluate the frequency of sexual abuse, its consequences for the victims, the prevalence and etiology of pedophilic interests, as well as the influence of the so-called "new media" (e.g., internet) concerning sexual abuse in the course of a joint research project sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Family, Elderly, Women and Youth. This will be followed by developing appropriate prevention strategies. The acronym "MiKADO" represents the first letters of the project topics: MiKADO = "Missbrauch von Kindern: Ätiologie, Dunkelfeld und Opfer" ("Sexual abuse of children: etiology, Dunkelfeld and victims").
It is expected that in humans, the lowered fitness of inbred offspring has produced a sexual aver... more It is expected that in humans, the lowered fitness of inbred offspring has produced a sexual aversion between close relatives. Generally, the strength of this aversion depends on the degree of relatedness between two individuals, with closer relatives inciting greater aversion than more distant relatives. Individuals are also expected to oppose acts of inbreeding that do not include the self, as inbreeding between two individuals posits fitness costs not only to the individuals involved in the sexual act, but also to their biological relatives. Thus, the strength of inbreeding aversion should be predicted by the fitness costs an inbred child posits to a given individual, irrespective of this individual's actual involvement in the sexual act. To test this prediction, we obtained information about the family structures of 663 participants, who reported the number of same-sex siblings, opposite-sex siblings, opposite-sex half siblings and opposite-sex cousins. Each participant was presented with three different types of inbreeding scenarios: 1) Participant descriptions, in which participants themselves were described as having sex with an actual opposite-sex relative (sibling, half sibling, or cousin); 2) Related third-party descriptions, in which participants' actual same-sex siblings were described as having sex with their actual opposite-sex relatives; 3) Unrelated third-party descriptions, in which individuals of the same sex as the participants but unrelated to them were described as having sex with opposite-sex relatives. Participants rated each description on the strength of sexual aversion (i.e., disgust-reaction). We found that unrelated third-party descriptions elicited less disgust than related third-party and participant descriptions. Related third-party and participant descriptions elicited similar levels of disgust suggesting that the strength of inbreeding aversion is predicted by inclusive fitness costs. Further, in the related and unrelated conditions alike, the strength of inbreeding aversion was positively associated with the degree of relatedness between those described in the descriptions.
Objective: Our main aim was to investigate the factor structure of the Alcohol Use Disorders Iden... more Objective: Our main aim was to investigate the factor structure of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in a Finnish population sample. Method: The AUDIT was completed by 3,125 men (mean age = 26.2 years) and 6,006 women (mean age = 26.1 years). Results: At a cutoff score of 8 or more, 49.8% of the men and 23.9% of the women would be identified as potentially engaged in excessive alcohol use. Exploratory factor analyses suggested a two-factor solution for both men and women. However, the factor structure was not invariant between men and women or in the different age groups among men. Conclusions: This is one of the largest known general population studies on alcohol use in recent years in Finland. The findings support a two-factor solution, and it is suggested that the AUDIT cutoff scores should be tailored according to age, gender, and drinking culture.
Introduction. Sexual interest in children resembles sexual gender orientation in terms of early o... more Introduction. Sexual interest in children resembles sexual gender orientation in terms of early onset and stability across the life span. Although a genetic component to sexual interest in children seems possible, no research has addressed this question to date. Prior research showing familial transmission of pedophilia remains inconclusive about shared environmental or genetic factors. Studies from the domains of sexual orientation and sexually problematic behavior among children pointed toward genetic components. Adult men's sexual interest in youthfulness-related cues may be genetically influenced. Aim. The aim of the present study was to test whether male sexual interest in children and youth under age 16 involves a heritable component. Main Outcome Measures. The main outcome measure was responses in a confidential survey concerning sexual interest, fantasies, or activity pertaining to children under the age of 16 years during the previous 12 months. Methods. The present study used an extended family design within behavioral genetic modeling to estimate the contributions of genetic and environmental factors in the occurrence of adult men's sexual interest in children and youth under age 16. Participants were male twins and their male siblings from a population-based Finnish cohort sample aged 21–43 years (N = 3,967). Results. The incidence of sexual interest in children under age was 3%. Twin correlations were higher for monozy-gotic than for dizygotic twins. Behavioral genetic model fitting indicated that a model including genetic effects as well as nonshared environmental influences (including measurement error), but not common environmental influences , fits the data best. The amount of variance attributable to nonadditive genetic influences (heritability) was estimated at 14.6%. Conclusions. The present study provides the first indication that genetic influences may play a role in shaping sexual interest toward children and adolescents among adult men. Compared with the variance attributable to nonshared environmental effects (plus measurement error), the contribution of any genetic factors seems comparatively weak. Future research should address the possible interplay of genetic with environmental risk factors, such as own sexual victimization in childhood. Alanko K, Salo B, Mokros A, and Santtila P. Evidence for heritability of adult men's sexual interest in youth under age 16 from a population-based extended twin design.
Introduction: Correct inhaler technique and device preference are positively correlated with impr... more Introduction: Correct inhaler technique and device preference are positively correlated with improved adherence and clinical outcomes. This study was designed to investigate inhaler technique mastery and device preference for three different dry powder inhalers, Spiromax, Easyhaler and Turbuhaler.
Experiencing emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse in childhood increases the risk (compared w... more Experiencing emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse in childhood increases the risk (compared with baseline) of developing psychopathological symptoms in adulthood. In the present study, we explored the effects of experiencing only a single abusive event on adulthood psychopathology, and compared this with the risk in individuals with no abusive experiences and with the risk in individuals with several abusive experiences. We used a Finnish population-based sample of 10,980 adult participants (3,766 male and 7,214 female twins and their siblings). The participants reported abuse experiences using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and current psychopathology symptoms using the depression and anxiety scales of the Brief Symptom Inventory–18 (BSI-18). We found that in both men and women even single experiences of emotional and sexual abuse were associated with increased psychopathology symptoms compared with no abuse experiences. Single experiences of physical abuse did not, however, increase the risk in either women or men. As expected, experiences of repeated abuse (of all abuse types) increased the risk of psychopathology symptoms compared with
Cognition research suggests that allocating attention resources to evolutionarily relevant stimul... more Cognition research suggests that allocating attention resources to evolutionarily relevant stimuli is facilitated suggesting that sexual stimuli interfere with human information processing. In a group of gay (n = 13) and straight men (n = 13) recruited in Finland, Germany and Italy, we investigated if and how sexually relevant visual stimuli affect information processing of both a target one (T1) and a subsequent target two (T2) in a dual target rapid serial visual presentation procedure. We hypothesized that: (1) due to the attentional blink (AB) phenomenon, the accuracy of reporting of T2 would decrease when following accurately identified sexually preferred T1 compared to accurately identified non-sexually preferred T1; 2) due to the pop out effect, the accuracy of reporting of T1 and T2 would be relatively increased when T1 and T2 were sexually preferred by the participants compared to when they were not. Our findings did not support hypothesis 1 but supported hypothesis 2. We further found that the pop out effect had a good capacity to differentiate sexual preference between the groups of gay and straight men. We conclude that dual target rapid serial visual presentation can be used as an attention-based measurement to differentiate sexual preference in men. Limitations and the applicability in the field of measuring sexual preference were discussed.
A Child Sexual Abuse Attitude and Belief Scale was constructed and then answered by 242 child psy... more A Child Sexual Abuse Attitude and Belief Scale was constructed and then answered by 242 child psychologists. Four CSA related attitude and belief subscales were identified through confirmatory factor analysis: (1) The Disclosure subscale reflecting favouring a disclosure at any cost; (2) The Pro-Child subscale reflecting unconditional belief in children's reports; (3) The Intuition subscale reflecting favouring an intuitive approach to CSA investigations; and (4) The Anti Criminal Justice System subscale reflecting negative attitudes towards the legal system. Beliefs that were erroneous according to empirical research were analyzed separately. The results suggest that some psychologists hold extreme attitudes and many erroneous beliefs related to CSA. Some misconceptions are common. Female participants tended to have stronger attitudes than male participants. The more training in interviewing children the participants had had, the more erroneous beliefs and stronger attitudes they had. Experience did not affect attitudes and beliefs.
The present study aimed to investigate prevalence of and reasons for selective serotonin reuptake... more The present study aimed to investigate prevalence of and reasons for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) discontinuation, and compare the two most common SSRIs used in premature ejaculation (PE) treatment, in naturalistic settings (that is, outside clinical trials). The sample consisted of 132 Finnish men with a mean age of 42.5 years (s.d. = 10.6) who had received medical treatment for lifelong PE. The men were enlisted for the study after identifying individuals from the third author's (a physician specializing in sexual medicine) patient registry. Participants responded to a secure, online questionnaire. PE treatment-related side effects of, and discontinuation rates for, different SSRIs were retrospectively self-reported. Treatment efficacy and happiness with treatment were retrospectively self-assessed. Discontinuation rates were uniformly high, ranging from 28.8 to 70.6% between different SSRIs. Dapoxetine was associated with the highest dropout rates (70.6%), and paroxetine the lowest, discontinuation rates. Limited efficacy and side effects were the most common reasons for discontinuation. Paroxetine was more effective and better tolerated than dapoxetine. A considerable number of patients chose to spontaneously discontinue treatment, especially so in the case of dapoxetine, corroborating recent studies conducted in naturalistic settings. Further research efforts are necessary to develop new and improve existing PE treatment alternatives.
We explored if the disposition to react with aggression while alcohol intoxicated was moderated b... more We explored if the disposition to react with aggression while alcohol intoxicated was moderated by polymor-phic variants of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR). Twelve OXTR polymorphisms were genotyped in 116 Finnish men [aged 18–30, M = 22.7, standard deviation (SD) = 2.4] who were randomly assigned to an alcohol condition in which they received an alcohol dose of 0.7 g pure ethanol/kg body weight or a placebo condition. Aggressive behavior was measured using a laboratory paradigm in which it was operationalized as the level of aversive noise administered to a fictive opponent. No main effects of the polymorphisms on aggressive behavior were found after controlling for multiple testing. The interactive effects between alcohol and two of the OXTR polymorphisms (rs4564970 and rs1488467) on aggressive behavior were nominally significant and remained significant for the rs4564970 when controlled for multiple tests. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental study suggesting interactive effects of specific genetic variants and alcohol on aggressive behavior in humans.
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