JP2011094985A - Autoanalyzer and sample dispensing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly wash a sample dispensing probe by avoiding the problem brought about by excessive immersion of the sample dispensing probe. <P>SOLUTION: The detected difference between liquid surface height and suction height H3 is calculated by a control part (control means), and when this difference is larger than an upper limit value, a sample is determined as being excessive, and the dispensation of the sample is stopped. When the value of the calculated difference is an immersion upper limit value or below and an immersion lower limit value or above, the amount of the sample is determined as being proper, and the sample dispensing probe is allowed to fall to the preset suction height H3, to perform the suction operation of a blood corpuscle component. The sample-dispensing probe is washed, in a portion that corresponds from the immersion upper limit value to the immersion lower limit value. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that automatically analyzes components such as blood, and is particularly effective when applied to dispensing of components precipitated in a sample container.

  Analysis of a sample consisting of a biological sample such as blood is performed by dispensing a predetermined amount of sample, mixing an appropriate amount of reagent as appropriate, and using a measuring means such as a photometer to change the light of the reaction solution. Automatic analyzers that automate processes and output analysis results are used in medical examinations.

  In the dispensing of the sample, a fixed amount of the tip of the sample dispensing probe is immersed in the liquid sample held in the sample container, and the sample is sucked by the pressure of a syringe pump connected through a pipe. At this time, the shape of the sample container is not the same, and the amount of the liquid sample held inside is not the same, so the height of the liquid sample differs for each sample container. Therefore, in order to prevent the sample from being sucked and excessive immersion of the tip of the sample dispensing probe, a technique for detecting the height of the liquid sample and controlling the amount of immersion of the tip of the sample dispensing probe is usually used.

  On the other hand, for example, when a sediment is contained in a target sample, such as HbA1c (hemoglobin A1c) which has recently been analyzed as a diagnostic indicator of diabetes, Regardless of the surface height, it is necessary to immerse the sample dispensing probe to the bottom of the sample container. For example, in the method described in Non-Patent Document 1, in order to analyze HbA1c, the blood collection tube containing whole blood is centrifuged, and the height from the bottom when blood cells are aspirated from the bottom of the blood collection tube and the analysis results Is being studied.

JJCLA, Vol. 29, No. 3, 2004

  However, the range in which the sample dispensing probe can come into contact with the liquid is limited due to structural problems. Alternatively, even if there is no structural problem, in order to enable continuous operation in the automatic analyzer, the cleaning range is limited due to the structure of the cleaning mechanism used in combination, so the part that can be immersed and the immersion There is an impossible part.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram when whole blood is centrifuged in a blood collection tube. As shown in FIG. 1, in a blood collection tube 101 as a sample (sample) container obtained by centrifuging whole blood, it is separated into a supernatant plasma component 102 and a blood cell component 103 precipitated at the bottom. Therefore, when the tip of the sample dispensing probe is lowered to a suitable blood cell suction position, depending on the liquid level height 104 of the sample, there is a possibility that the sample dispensing probe may come into contact with a portion where the sample dispensing probe cannot be immersed.

  This excessive soaking of the sample dispensing probe may cause problems such as malfunction or failure of the sample dispensing mechanism, contamination of the sample due to sample adhesion to uncleanable parts, and adverse effects on analysis results. cause.

  As a method of avoiding sample adhesion to the uncleanable part, it is conceivable to increase the washable area in the mechanism for washing the sample dispensing probe. In this case, the washing time increases as the washing area increases. And the liquid used for cleaning remains on the surface of the sample dispensing probe. In addition, it may be possible to remove the supernatant plasma component and perform dispensing, but in this case, extra operation costs are required to remove the supernatant, and later reexamination of the plasma component is required. Therefore, the patient is forced to collect more blood than originally required.

  An object of the present invention is to avoid problems caused by excessive immersion of the sample dispensing probe and to properly clean the sample dispensing probe.

  The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

  Of the inventions disclosed in the present application, the outline of typical ones will be briefly described as follows.

An automatic analyzer according to a typical embodiment includes a sample dispensing probe, probe transfer means for lowering the sample dispensing probe so as to be immersed in the sample in the sample container, and the liquid level of the sample. A liquid level detecting means for detecting the thickness, a control means for controlling the operation of the probe transferring means and recognizing the detected height of the liquid level, and a cleaning means for cleaning the sample dispensing probe after sample dispensing. The control means includes a sample suction height when the sample is sucked by the sample dispensing probe, and a predetermined sample as an immersion upper limit value of the sample dispensing probe. The difference between the liquid level and the sample suction height is stored in advance, and the liquid level of the sample detected by the liquid level detection means When the difference between the height and the sample suction height is calculated and the difference is less than or equal to the upper limit of immersion, the sample dispensing probe is lowered to the suction height to suck the sample and suck the sample Dispense into other containers,
The said washing | cleaning means wash | cleans the range corresponding to the said immersion upper limit of the said sample dispensing probe after dispensing of the aspirated sample.

  An automatic analyzer according to another representative embodiment includes a sample dispensing probe, probe transfer means for lowering the sample dispensing probe so as to be immersed in the sample in the sample container, and the liquid level of the sample. A liquid level detecting means for detecting the height of the liquid, a control means for controlling the operation of the probe transferring means and for detecting the detected height of the liquid level, and washing the sample dispensing probe after sample dispensing. An automatic analyzer including a cleaning unit, wherein the control unit is configured to determine a sample suction height when the sample is sucked by the sample dispensing probe and a predetermined immersion upper limit value of the sample dispensing probe. The value of the difference between the liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height is stored in advance, and the sample detected by the liquid level detecting means The difference between the liquid level and the sample suction height is calculated, and when this difference is larger than the upper limit of immersion, the sample is aspirated by the sample dispensing probe until it becomes equal to or lower than the upper limit of immersion. The sample sucked together is discarded, and when the difference between the liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height is not more than the upper limit of immersion, the sample dispensing probe is lowered to the suction height to The aspirated sample is dispensed into another container, and the cleaning means cleans a range corresponding to the immersion upper limit value of the sample dispensing probe after dispensing the aspirated sample.

  A sample dispensing method according to a typical embodiment is a method of dispensing a sample in a sample container with a sample dispensing probe, and (a) a sample suction height when the sample is sucked The difference between the liquid level of the predetermined sample and the sample suction height as the upper limit of immersion of the sample dispensing probe is set in advance, and the detected liquid level of the sample A step of calculating a difference from the sample suction height; and (b) when the difference between the liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height is equal to or lower than the upper limit of immersion, the sample dispensing probe A step of lowering the sample and sucking the sample and dispensing the sucked sample into another container; and (c) the immersion maximum value of the sample dispensing probe after the dispensing. And a step of washing the range of response, the.

  A sample dispensing method according to another representative embodiment is a method of dispensing a sample in a sample container with a sample dispensing probe, and (a) the sample suction height when the sample is sucked The difference between the liquid level of the predetermined sample and the sample suction height as the upper limit of immersion of the sample dispensing probe is set in advance, and the detected liquid level of the sample A step of calculating a difference from the sample suction height; and (b) when the difference between the liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height is larger than the upper limit of immersion, the immersion by the sample dispensing probe. A step of aspirating the sample until it becomes equal to or less than an upper limit and discarding the aspirated sample; and (c) a liquid level of the sample and the sample aspiration height. When the sample dispensing probe descends to the suction height and sucks the sample and dispenses the sucked sample into another container, and (d) Cleaning a range corresponding to the upper limit of immersion of the sample dispensing probe after pouring.

  Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, effects obtained by typical ones will be briefly described as follows.

  According to the present invention, when the difference between the liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height is equal to or less than the upper limit of immersion, the sample dispensing probe is lowered to the suction height to suck the sample. Can be avoided. Therefore, the adhered sample can be removed by uniformly cleaning the range corresponding to the upper limit of immersion of the sample dispensing probe after sample dispensing.

  Thereby, the problem caused by the excessive immersion of the sample dispensing probe can be avoided, and the sample dispensing probe can be cleaned appropriately.

It is a schematic diagram when whole blood is centrifuged in a blood collection tube. It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline of the automatic analyzer of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of a sample dispensing probe. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating each reference | standard height of a sample dispensing probe. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the dispensing method of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the dispensing method of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that components having the same function are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings for describing the embodiment, and the repetitive description thereof is omitted as much as possible.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of the automatic analyzer according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a sample dispensing probe, and FIG. 4 is for explaining each reference height of the sample dispensing probe. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the dispensing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic analyzer 100 includes a sample dispensing probe 121 and a sample dispensing mechanism 131 as a probe transfer unit to which the sample dispensing probe 121 is fixed. In the operating range of the sample dispensing probe 121, the blood collection tube (sample container) 101, the drying tank 132, the probe cleaning mechanism (cleaning means) 133, and the reaction container (other containers) 134 are arranged so as not to interfere with each other in this order. Has been. The automatic analyzer 100 includes a control unit (control unit) 141 that controls the sample dispensing mechanism 131, the probe cleaning mechanism 133, and the like, an input unit 151 that inputs data to the control unit 141, and an alarm generator that is controlled by the control unit 141. (Alarm generating means) 161 is also provided.

  The sample dispensing probe 121 can be operated in the vertical direction and the rotation direction by a driving mechanism (not shown) of the sample dispensing mechanism 131. The sample dispensing probe 121 and the sample dispensing mechanism 131 are controlled by the control unit 141 in terms of moving speed and stop position. The sample dispensing probe 121 is connected to a syringe pump (not shown) via the sample dispensing mechanism 131, and the suction and discharge speeds and amounts are also controlled by the control unit 141.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the sample dispensing probe 121 is divided into a portion that can be immersed in the sample on the distal end side and a portion that cannot be immersed on the proximal end side. A liquid level detection mechanism (liquid level detection means) 122 by a capacitive method is provided on the tip side of the portion where the sample dispensing probe 121 can be immersed, and the liquid level is detected by contact with the sample in the blood collection tube 101. The height of the is to be detected. Further, the position information of the liquid level detected thereby is sent to the control unit 141. In the present invention, the liquid level detection method is not limited to the capacitance method.

  The blood collection tube 101 is as already described with reference to FIG. 1, but when installed in the automatic analyzer 100, the container bottom is held in contact with the device. Note that a plurality of blood collection tubes 101 are actually arranged at predetermined intervals on a sample disk or sample rack.

  Although the probe cleaning mechanism 133 will be described in detail later, a predetermined value of the difference between the sample liquid level and the sample suction height is set as an immersion upper limit value, and a portion in a range corresponding to the immersion upper limit value of the sample dispensing probe 121 is obtained. Designed to be washable.

  As with the blood collection tube 101, a plurality of containers are arranged on the reaction disk or rack at predetermined intervals.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when dispensing the blood cell component 103 as a sample from the blood collection tube 101, sample dispensing is performed so that the tip of the sample dispensing probe 121 is positioned at the upper limit height H0 at the start of dispensing. It is adjusted when the mechanism 131 is assembled. The adjustment at this time may be any known adjustment method such as assembly adjustment or soft adjustment.

  The correctly adjusted sample dispensing probe 121 is lowered from the upper limit height H0 under the control of the sample dispensing mechanism 131 by the control unit 141. At the time of the descent, the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection mechanism 122 and the liquid level height 104 in the blood collection tube 101 is measured.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 141 measures the moving distance H of the tip of the sample dispensing probe 121 from the upper limit height H0 that is the lowering start position to the liquid level height 104 (S10).

  The descent amount is confirmed by comparing this distance H with a distance from H0 to a preset liquid level height H1 (S11). Here, the distance from H0 to H1 is input from the input unit 151 to the control unit 141 and stored in advance.

  When the confirmed lowering amount is shorter than the distance from H0 to H1 (when H <H0−H1), the sample is determined to be an excessive amount, and the controller 141 prevents further lowering of the sample dispensing probe 121; Without aspirating the sample, the alarm generator 161 generates an alarm notifying that the sample amount is excessive (S12).

  When the descending amount confirmed from the distance H is not less than the distance from H0 to H1 and not more than the distance to the preset liquid level height H2 (in the case of H0−H1 ≦ H ≦ H0−H2). The sample amount is determined to be an appropriate amount. Then, under the control of the sample dispensing mechanism 131 by the control unit 141, the sample dispensing probe 121 is further lowered to the preset suction height H3 and immersed in the sample (S13). That is, in the sample dispensing probe 121, the portions corresponding to H1 to H3 are dipping portions shown in FIG. Here, the distances from H0 to H2 and H3 are input from the input unit 151 to the control unit 141 and stored in advance.

  Then, the blood cell component 103 is aspirated at the position of H3 and sample dispensing is performed (S14).

  When the liquid level cannot be detected even at the position of H2 beyond H1, that is, when the distance H is longer than the distance from H0 to H2 (when H> H0−H2), it is determined that the sample is too small, The control unit 141 stops the lowering of the sample dispensing probe 121 and notifies the alarm generator 161 that the sample is insufficient (S15).

  That is, in S10 to S15, operations substantially similar to the following steps are performed. The sample suction height H3, which is the height from the blood collection tube bottom H4 shown in FIG. 4 to the position for sucking the sample, and the difference between the predetermined sample liquid surface height H1 and the suction height H3 (upper limit of immersion) Is input to the control unit 141 from the input unit 151 and stored in advance. Moreover, the difference (immersion lower limit value) between the heights H2 and H3 of other predetermined sample liquid levels is also set and stored in the same manner.

  Then, the difference between the detected liquid level height 104 and the suction height H3 is calculated by the control unit 141. If this difference is larger than the upper limit of immersion, it is determined that the sample amount is excessive, Stops the note and generates an alarm.

  If the calculated difference value is equal to or less than the immersion upper limit value and equal to or greater than the immersion lower limit value, it is determined that the amount of the sample is appropriate, and the sample dispensing probe 121 is lowered to the preset suction height H3. The blood cell component 103 is sucked.

  If the liquid level cannot be detected even at the H2 position, the calculated difference value is smaller than the lower limit of immersion, so it is determined that the sample amount is too small, and the sample dispensing probe 121 stops descending, Generate an alarm.

  As shown by a broken line in FIG. 2, the sample dispensing probe 121 after the sample suction is moved to the position of the reaction vessel 134 through rising and rotation by the control of the sample dispensing mechanism 131 by the control unit 141. A predetermined amount of the sample sucked from the blood collection tube 101 is discharged into the inside.

  After the discharge, the sample dispensing probe 121 moves to the position of the probe cleaning mechanism 133 under the same control of the sample dispensing mechanism 131, and the immersable part of the sample dispensing probe 121 is cleaned.

  In this cleaning, more preferably, only the immersed part is cleaned by the control of the sample dispensing mechanism 131 and the probe cleaning mechanism 133 by the control unit 141 according to the detected liquid level height 104. Thereby, it is possible to speed up the cleaning and save the cleaning agent. In the sample dispensing probe 121 after washing, water droplets remaining on the outer wall are removed by the drying tank 132.

  As described above, in the automatic analyzer according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the blood cell component is not dispensed when the sample amount exceeds the predetermined value. It is possible to avoid the occurrence of contamination and carry-over due to the sample adhering to the impossible part.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the dispensing method according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Also in this embodiment, the same automatic analyzer 100 as in the first embodiment is used. When dispensing the blood cell component 103 shown in FIG. 4, as in the first embodiment, the sample dispensing probe 121 adjusted correctly is controlled by the control unit 141 by the sample dispensing mechanism 131 in FIG. Lower than the upper limit height H0 shown. At the time of the descent, the liquid level is detected by the liquid level detection mechanism 122 and the liquid level height 104 in the blood collection tube 101 is measured.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 141 measures the moving distance H of the tip of the sample dispensing probe 121 from the upper limit height H0 that is the lowering start position to the liquid level height 104 (S20).

  The descent amount is confirmed by comparing this distance H with a distance from H0 to a preset liquid level height H1 (S21). Here, the distance from H0 to H1 is input from the input unit 151 to the control unit 141 and stored in advance.

  When the confirmed descending amount is shorter than the distance from H0 to H1 (when H <H0−H1), it is determined that the sample is an excessive amount, and the control unit 141 causes the sample dispensing probe 121 to move to the liquid level height 104. (S22).

  After stopping, the sample dispensing mechanism 131 sucks a predetermined amount of sample from the blood collection tube 101, and the sample dispensing probe 121 is moved to the reaction container 134 and discharged (discarded) under the control of the sample dispensing mechanism 131. (S23). The disposal may be performed on a container or the like at a place other than the reaction container 134.

  Thereafter, the process returns to S20, and the liquid level is detected in the blood collection tube 101 again under the control of the sample dispensing mechanism 131. This process is repeated until the liquid level in the blood collection tube 101 reaches a position equal to or lower than H1.

  That is, in S20 to S23, the difference between the detected liquid level height 104 and the sample suction height H3 is calculated, and when this difference is larger than the immersion upper limit value, the sample dispensing probe 121 uses the immersion upper limit value. The sample is aspirated until the following is reached, and the aspirated sample is discarded.

  When the descending amount confirmed from the distance H is equal to or more than the distance from H0 to H1 from the beginning or by the operation of S20 to S23 (in the case of H0−H1 ≦ H), S24 to S26 of S13 of the first embodiment. The same operation as S15 is performed.

  In the second embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the advantages of the first embodiment, there is an advantage that sample dispensing can be performed reliably as long as the sample amount is not too small. Also, if an extra amount of sample is discharged into the reaction vessel 134, this sample can be reused when re-examination is required.

  In the above embodiment, a blood collection tube is used as the sample container. However, the sample container is not limited to this, and any container can be used as long as it can be normally used in an automatic analyzer such as a centrifuge tube. May be used.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where a blood cell component is dispensed as a sample, this invention is not limited to this, It can apply widely to the dispensing of the component which precipitated in the sample container in the biological sample. it can.

  The present invention is applicable to an automatic analyzer that automatically analyzes components such as blood.

100 Automatic analyzer 101 Blood collection tube (sample container)
102 Plasma component 103 Blood cell component 104 Liquid level height 121 Sample dispensing probe 122 Liquid level detection mechanism (liquid level detection means)
131 Sample dispensing mechanism 132 Drying tank 133 Probe cleaning mechanism (cleaning means)
134 Reaction vessel (other vessel)
141 Control unit (control means)
151 Input unit 161 Alarm generator (alarm generating means)
H0 Upper limit height H1 Preliminary liquid level height H2 Preliminary liquid level height H3 Suction height H4 Blood collection tube bottom H Movement distance

Claims (10)

Sample dispensing probe, probe transfer means for lowering the sample dispensing probe so as to be immersed in the sample in the sample container, liquid level detection means for detecting the liquid level of the sample, and probe transfer means An automatic analyzer comprising: a control means for controlling the operation of the liquid surface and recognizing the detected height of the liquid level; and a washing means for washing the sample dispensing probe after sample dispensing,
The control means includes a sample suction height when the sample is sucked by the sample dispensing probe, a predetermined liquid level height as the immersion upper limit value of the sample dispensing probe, and the sample suction height. The difference value is stored in advance,
The difference between the liquid level of the sample detected by the liquid level detection means and the sample suction height is calculated, and when the difference is less than or equal to the upper limit of immersion, the sample dispensing probe is brought up to the suction height. Lower the sample to be aspirated and dispense the aspirated sample into another container,
The automatic analyzer is characterized in that the cleaning means cleans a range corresponding to the immersion upper limit value of the sample dispensing probe after dispensing the sucked sample.   2. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, further comprising an alarm generating means, wherein the control means is configured such that when the difference between the liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height is larger than the upper limit of immersion, An automatic analyzer characterized in that an alarm is generated by the alarm means without aspirating a sample. Sample dispensing probe, probe transfer means for lowering the sample dispensing probe so as to be immersed in the sample in the sample container, liquid level detection means for detecting the liquid level of the sample, and probe transfer means An automatic analyzer comprising: a control means for controlling the operation of the liquid surface and recognizing the detected height of the liquid level; and a washing means for washing the sample dispensing probe after sample dispensing,
The control means includes a sample suction height when the sample is sucked by the sample dispensing probe, a predetermined liquid level height as the immersion upper limit value of the sample dispensing probe, and the sample suction height. The difference value is stored in advance,
Calculate the difference between the liquid level of the sample detected by the liquid level detection means and the sample suction height, and if this difference is greater than the upper limit of immersion, the upper limit of immersion is calculated by the sample dispensing probe. Causing the sample to be aspirated until it is below the value and discarding the aspirated sample,
When the difference between the liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height is equal to or less than the upper limit of immersion, the sample dispensing probe is lowered to the suction height to suck the sample and suck the sample. Dispense into other containers,
The automatic analyzer is characterized in that the cleaning means cleans a range corresponding to the immersion upper limit value of the sample dispensing probe after dispensing the sucked sample.   The automatic analyzer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sample in the sample container includes a plasma component and a blood cell component precipitated on the plasma component, and the sample dispensing probe sucks the blood cell component. And the sample container is a blood collection tube.   5. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit is configured to determine the sample amount according to a value of a difference between the calculated liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height. * Automatic analyzer characterized by changing the cleaning range of the probe. A method of dispensing a sample in a sample container with a sample dispensing probe,
(A) Preliminarily setting a sample suction height when the sample is sucked, and a difference value between the sample liquid level height and the sample suction height as an immersion upper limit value of the sample dispensing probe A step of calculating the difference between the detected liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height;
(B) When the difference between the liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height is equal to or less than the upper limit of immersion, the sample dispensing probe descends to the suction height to suck the sample and suck it Dispensing the sample into another container;
(C) washing the range corresponding to the immersion upper limit value of the sample dispensing probe after the dispensing;
A method for dispensing a sample, comprising:   The sample dispensing method according to claim 6, wherein (d) when the difference between the liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height is larger than the upper limit of immersion, the sample is not sucked and an alarm is generated. A sample dispensing method, further comprising the step of generating A method of dispensing a sample in a sample container with a sample dispensing probe,
(A) Preliminarily setting a sample suction height when the sample is sucked, and a difference value between the sample liquid level height and the sample suction height as an immersion upper limit value of the sample dispensing probe A step of calculating the difference between the detected liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height;
(B) When the difference between the liquid surface height of the sample and the sample suction height is larger than the immersion upper limit value, the sample is aspirated by the sample dispensing probe until it becomes equal to or lower than the immersion upper limit value. Discarding the aspirated sample;
(C) When the difference between the liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height is equal to or less than the upper limit of immersion, the sample dispensing probe descends to the suction height to suck the sample and suck it Dispensing the sample into another container;
(D) washing the range corresponding to the immersion upper limit of the sample dispensing probe after the dispensing;
A method for dispensing a sample, comprising:   The sample dispensing method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the sample in the sample container includes a plasma component and a blood cell component precipitated on the plasma component, and the sample dispensing probe aspirates the blood cell component. And the sample container is a blood collection tube.   10. The sample dispensing method according to claim 6, wherein the sample dispensing probe is washed according to a value of a difference between the calculated liquid level of the sample and the sample suction height. A sample dispensing method characterized in that the range is changed.

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