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Effectiveness of Dark Chocolates in The Performance of The Student
Effectiveness of Dark Chocolates in The Performance of The Student
Effectiveness of Dark Chocolates in The Performance of The Student
Rationale
memorizing class lessons is the chocolates. In fact, there are several notions that the
and Mood by Andrew Scholey and Lauren Owen, chocolate originates from Mexico,
where an ancient tribe called the Olmecs was the first to domesticate the plant and use
the beans and named it “Kakawa” or cacao. The Toltecs emerged to challenge the
empire of the Mayans and also saw cacao as a divine gift, believing the god Quetzalcoatl
had given the bean to humans and taught them how to cultivate it. Chocolate is a typical
sweet, usually brown, food preparation of Theobroma cacao seeds, roasted and ground,
often flavored, as with vanilla. It is made in a form of liquid, paste or in a block or used
neurocognitive function. Among these are carbohydrates, which have known behavioral
effects. However, given the large body of literature on the effects of carbohydrates and
glucose on cognition for purposes of this review the potential neurocognitive effects of
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craving. It was not possible to include carbohydrates effect in this systematic review
There are many studies that make chocolate a blessing in improving human
intelligence. But in a new review published in May 2017 Edition of Frontiers in Nutrition
analyzed the evidence to date that Flavanols (found in dark chocolate and cocoa) may
not benefit human function and just make it as a misconception. It is concluded while
they are making a study and found that chocolate doesn’t affect writing and reading
skills of the respondents. Another 2015 article, ‘Why Students Love Chocolate?’ found
out that dark chocolates were used by the students as a support when they are going to
measures of high brain function are actually improved by the consumption of chocolate
cognitive developments, this study aims to find out the effects of Dark Chocolates
College (RHMC).
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Theoretical Background
The researchers will use the Schema Theory of John Piaget in 1936. The theory
found out the concept of schema (plural: schemata) to understand the interaction of
key factors affecting the comprehension process created and approved by the linguists,
cognitive psychologists, and psycholinguists. Simply put, schema theory states that all
According to this theory, schemata represent knowledge about concepts: objects and
the relationships they have with other objects, situations, events, sequences of events,
This study will also use Cognitive Development Theory of Jean Piaget in 1936
observational studies of cognition in children, and a series of simple but ingenious test
to reveal different cognitive abilities. This theory explains how a child constructs a
mental model of the world. He disagreed with the idea that intelligence was a fixed trait,
Aside from the two theories of Jean Piaget, the researchers will also use Social
Learning Theory of Albert Bandura in 1977 which he believes that humans are active
information processors and think about the relationship between their behavior and its
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consequences. Observational learning could not occur unless cognitive processes were
at work. These mental factors mediate (i.e., intervene) in the learning process to
determine whether a new response is acquired. Aside from these, it is also stated that
individuals do not automatically observe the behavior of a model and imitate it. Thus,
there is some thought prior to imitation, and this consideration is called meditational
processes. This occurs between observing the behavior (stimulus) and imitating it or not
(response). The theory states more to modeling skills of an individual where it refers to
Related Literature
2016, it's not all bad news. John Thomas, the author of this book, point to the discovery
that cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate, contains biologically active phenolic
compounds.
This has changed people's views on chocolate, and it has stimulated research
into how it might impact aging, and conditions such as oxidative stress, blood pressure
health benefits. The higher the cocoa content, as in dark chocolate, the more benefits
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there are. Dark chocolate may also contain less fat and sugar, but it is important to
check the label. Eating chocolate may have the following benefits:
It is important to note that the possible health benefits mentioned above came
from single studies. More research is needed to confirm that eating chocolate can really
improve people's health. In addition, chocolate bars do not contain only cocoa. The
benefits and risks of any other ingredients, such as sugar and fat, need to be considered.
Dark Chocolate’, there are eight health benefits dark chocolate has to offer. The average
American consumes roughly 12 pounds of chocolate each year, and over $75 billion is
regularly, which is why I want to help you make the smart, healthy choice. That way you
can have your chocolate without guilt and with health benefits of dark chocolate to
boot:
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6. Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Aid
7. Antioxidant-Rich Superfood
Chocolate, Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health
benefits of dark vegetables as part of your anti-aging diet. These benefits are
from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging
caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark
chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in
strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric
oxide and balance certain hormones in the body. In fact, cocoa and chocolate products
have been used as medicine in many cultures for centuries. There are health benefits in
Dark Chocolate. Dark chocolate is good for your heart. A small bar of it every day can
help keep your heart and cardiovascular system running well. Two heart health benefits
Lower blood pressure: Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark
chocolate every day can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood
pressure.
Lower cholesterol: Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol
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It contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant.
Related Studies
chocolate improve your brain function?’, dark chocolates are thought to improve
alertness and so can improve brain function. The 968 participants of the study were
from the Syracuse University. The participants undertake questionnaires and physical
ageing, the development of heart disease and also cognitive performance. the
participants reported how often during the week they ate a variety of foods, including
chocolate, meat, eggs, breads, rice, fruit, vegetables, dairy, nuts and beverages such as
tea, coffee, water, fruit juice and alcohol. Chocolate was not differentiated according to
whether it was dark, milk or white chocolate. The participants reported their food intake
rarely ate chocolate (337 people) and those who ate chocolate at least once a week (631
people). Participants were given various brain function tests – including remembering
where things were spatial memory, abstract reasoning, working memory and attention.
The relationships between chocolate intake and performance on the cognitive tasks
were then analyzed. The results from people who had dementia were excluded, as this
is a serious cognitive impairment, as were people who had experienced a stroke, as this
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would skew the results. The participants reported that they ate chocolate more than
once a week performed better in most of the cognitive tests, particularly on their
“visual-spatial memory and organization” score. There was no relationship with working
memory. More women were self-reported chocolate eaters, so this could bias the
results. Women often perform better than men in certain tests of cognitive function,
particularly in the elderly. The chocolate-eating group was less likely to have high blood
pressure or diabetes and had lower fasting blood glucose levels (indicative of pre-
poorer cardiovascular health. Chocolate is often demonized due to the high sugar and
fat content in chocolate bars and its association with “guilty pleasure”. But cocoa (or
chocolate in its raw form) actually contains lots of compounds that act in the brain. In
particular, cocoa contains flavonoids, which are found in fruits such as grapes and
apples. Cocoa also contains caffeine and theobromine, which are the stimulants found
in coffee and tea. These natural compounds are thought to improve alertness and so
article entitled, ‘Could eating chocolate save your memory?’, chocolates can increase
compound in chocolate, called flavanol mixed in hot cocoa drinks. The volunteers were
then asked to count backwards in groups of three from a random number between 800
and 999 generated by a computer. The findings show that they could do the calculations
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more quickly and more accurately after they had been given the drink. However, the
same was not true when the volunteers were asked to count backwards in groups of
seven, which the researchers described as a more complex task, requiring a slightly
different part of the brain. The findings also show that the volunteers did not feel tired
while doing the calculations. All this happened with only 500mg of flavanol found in
chocolates.
year 2014, the scientists had randomly given some dark chocolate drink to a group of 37
healthy volunteers. They named their study ‘Can Chocolate Increase Brain
Cognition?’They conducted brain imaging and memory tests on the volunteers aged
between 50 and 69, before and after the three-month study. According to the lead
author, when they imaged their research subjects' brains, they found noticeable
improvements in the function of the dentate gyrus in those who consumed the high-
cocoa-flavanol drink. The group on the high-flavanol drink also performed better in the
memory test. According to a senior author Dr. Scott Small, a professor of neurology, in
his statement he said that if a participant had the memory of a typical 60-year-old at the
beginning of the study, after three months, that person on average had the memory of a
typical 30 or 40-year-old. Other experts have called the study's findings "promising" but
pointed out that it was a "very small" study so needs to be conducted on a larger scale
or low in flavanols.
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Conceptual Framework
Chocolates
The researchers will use the theories of Jean Piaget and Albert Bandura; Schema
Theory (1936), Cognitive Development Theory (1936), and Social Learning Theory (1977)
to the mixed-aged upper elementary pupils of RHMC. The test examination will be two
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weeks and on the first week, 30 respondents, equally divided, will be used to participate
in this study. Fifteen will have the intervention and the rest will not have. After the
experimentation of reading a story, both groups will take the examination. This will do
for about 1 hour each day for 5 days on the first week. On the other week, same process
but the group who took on eating dark chocolates will be the group who will not eat,
and the group who did not eat dark chocolates will be the one to eat. This will be on the
same process on the experimentation and examination on the second week of the
study. The researcher will consume 10 days for data gathering, 10 different stories and
sets of questions for the examination, and 50 pieces of Goya Dark Chocolate for the
experimentation. After two weeks of data gathering, the researchers will analyze the
gathered data and will test their hypothetical statement by making conclusions. Thus,
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The Problem
terms of memorizing things while eating it. In fact, they really believe that something
has changed in their skills such as memorization, understanding, and cognitive abilities.
This study aims to answer out if eating dark chocolates will help student’s reading
comprehension.
The following questions are generated by the researches as a guide to what they
1.1 With Chocolate condition and passed the reading comprehension test examination;
1.2 With Chocolate condition and did not passed the reading comprehension test
examination;
1.3 Without Chocolate condition and passed the reading comprehension test
examination;
1.4 Without Chocolate condition and did not passed the reading comprehension test
examination.
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2. Is there any significant difference between the ability of the pupils’ who are eating
dark chocolates and the pupils who are not eating dark chocolates in terms of their
3. Is there any significant difference between the scores of the pupils who ate dark
chocolates and the pupils who did not eat dark chocolates?
Research Hypothesis
Ho1 There is no significant difference between the scores of the pupils who ate dark
chocolates and the pupils who did not eat dark chocolates.
Ho2 There is no significant difference between the ability of the pupils’ who are
eating dark chocolates and the pupils who are not eating dark chocolates in terms of
The researchers strongly believe that this study about chocolates as a help in a
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The Mixed-age Upper Elementary teachers and faculty members of RHMC will
be given an idea if they can use dark chocolates inside classes to help their students.
Also, it will make them aware about the effects chocolate give either as if they can also
The Department of Education will be delighted for they will be given information
The Department of Health will be benefited for it will lead them to further
The Future Researchers will have further investigations having strong evidences
The researchers ought to find out the effects of eating dark chocolates in the
reading comprehension of the mixed aged pupils grades 4, 5 and 6. The researchers
would like to involve the whole Danao City but is only able to induct this study in RHMC.
Among the whole population of RHMC, the researchers will only use 30 pupils of
Mixed-age Upper Elementary Department. The study covers only ten days having
maximum of 2 hours each day. The researchers will ask the profile including the name
and the grade level and their answer towards the test examination and experimentation
and will only test their reading comprehension through the use of the data gathering
tool which is the researcher’s made questionnaire. In addition, the identicalness of the
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respondents are known to be dynamic and confidential and such, was highly cover by
the researcher to be in secure for the exclusive use of the researcher and will not be
shared.
Definition of Terms
Dark Chocolates – It is a tool that is being tested by the researchers upon knowing its
Fingers – It is the measurement for identifying the amount of dark chocolate that will be
Mixed-Age Upper Elementary Pupils – It is composed of three grade levels which are
Reading Articles – It is one of the researcher’s instruments in this study which will be
Rosemont Hills Montessori College (RHMC) – It is where the researchers will conduct
the study.
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Chapter 2
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
study.
Research Design
In our data gathering, the researchers will use Post Test Only Design. The Post
Test Only Design is simple and straightforward. This type of design can be done with one
group (no comparison group), or two groups (with comparison group) of participants.
The participants received a treatment or intervention and will be tested onwards. In this
study, the participants will undergo an experiment by eating and not eating dark
chocolates while reading a story. After the experimentation, the participants will answer
some questions based on the story to test whether dark chocolates help reading
comprehension, or not. In order for the experiment to be both reliable and valid, it is
Research Environment
The researchers will conduct their study inside Rosemont Hills Montessori
College that is located at Deca Homes, Sabang, Danao City. It is convenient to the
researchers and it is a good place to conduct the study because there are a variety of
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year levels in choosing respondents. Aside from its convenience, this school is an
English-speaking school and will be relevant because the study is all about reading
Research Subjects
The respondents of this study are the mixed-age upper elementary pupils of
qualify the random sampling technique. Aside, they chose these types of respondents
Research Procedure
The researchers will first go to the school’s executive office and asks for
permission to make the experiment for the mixed-age pupils of upper elementary
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department of RHMC. The researchers will use random sampling technique. The
researchers will give the pupils a number different to one another and have a shuffling
method to know who will eat dark chocolates for the first week. Then if granted, the
researchers will make use the first week to give an experiment to the pupils by giving
the half, a chocolate, and the other half will not have while reading a whole story. Then
the research respondents will answer the questions regarding to their understanding on
the story. This will happen for five days, consecutively. After the first week, the students
who have eaten the chocolate will be the control group while the other half will now be
the students who will eat the chocolates on the second week. Then they are going to
undergo the same process. Then after the two-week experiment, the researchers will
analyze the given data, make conclusions, and have their research recommendation.
Research Instrument
The researchers will prepare ten different English stories to be given to the
pupils as a reading material. They will provide also ten researcher-made questionnaires
based on the story. The first part of the questionnaire is where the respondents will put
their profile like their name, age, date, and their score after they answer the reading
comprehension test questions. The next part is the story-based questions made by the
researchers where they will answer to test their comprehension on reading. The
researchers also will prepare dark chocolates for the intervention and as a testing
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Statistical Treatment
The following are the formulas the researchers will use in analyzing data.
𝑓
𝑅= ∗ 100
𝑛
where:
f- frequency
R- percentage rate
B. Mean
The mean will be applied in order to get the performance of pupils in their
∑𝑋
𝑀= 𝑁
where:
M= mean
∑= summation
N= total
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Correlated (or Paired) T Test: The correlated T test is performed when the samples typically
consist of matched pairs of similar units, or when there are cases of repeated measures. For
example, there may be instances of same patients being tested repeatedly - before and after
taking a particular treatment. In such cases, each patient is being used as a control sample
against themselves. This method can also applies on cases where the samples are related in
some manner or have matching characteristics, like a comparative analysis involving children,
parents or siblings. Correlated or paired T tests are of dependent type, as these involve cases
where the two sets of samples are related.
The formula for computing the t-value and degrees of freedom for paired T test is:
mean1 and mean2 are the average values of each of the sample sets,
while var1 and var2 represent the variance of each of the sample sets.
The remaining two types belong to the independent T tests. The samples of these types are
selected independent of each other – that is, the data sets in the two groups don’t refer to the
same values. They include cases like a group of 100 patients being split into two sets of 50 each.
One of the groups becomes the control group and is given placebo, while the other group gets
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the prescribed treatment. This constitutes two independent sample groups which are unpaired
with each other.
Equal Variance (or pooled) T Test: The equal variance T test is used when the number of
samples in each groups is the same, or the variance of the two data sets is similar. The following
formula is used for calculating t-value and degrees of freedom for equal variance T test:
Unequal Variance T Test: The unequal variance T test is used when the number of samples in
each group is different and the variance of the two data sets is also different. This test is also
called the Welch's t-test. The following formula is used for calculating t-value and degrees of
freedom for unequal variance T test:
The following flowchart can be used to determine which T test should be used based on the
characteristics of the sample sets. The key items to be considered include whether the sample
records are similar, the number of data records in each sample set, and the variance of each
sample set.
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Read more: T-Test: Formula & Definition |
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Schema Theory Linguists, cognitive psychologists, and psycholinguists have used the
affecting the comprehension process. Simply put, schema theory states that all
According to this theory, schemata represent knowledge about concepts: objects and
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the relationships they have with other objects, situations, events, sequences of events,
actions, and sequences of actions. A simple example is to think of your schema for dog.
Within that schema you most likely have knowledge about dogs in general (bark, four
legs, teeth, hair, tails) and probably information about specific dogs, such as collies (long
hair, large, Lassie) or springer spaniels (English, docked tails, liver and white or black and
white, Millie). You may also think of dogs within the greater context of animals and
other living things; that is, dogs breathe, need food, and reproduce. Your knowledge of
dogs might also include the fact that they are mammals and thus are warm-blooded and
bear their young as opposed to laying eggs. Depending upon your personal experience,
the knowledge of a dog as a pet (domesticated and loyal) or as an animal to fear (likely
to bite or attack) may be a part of your schema. And so it goes with the development of
a schema. Each new experience incorporates more information into one's schema. What
does all this have to do with reading comprehension? Individuals have schemata for
everything. Long before students come to school, they develop schemata (units of
knowledge) about everything they experience. Schemata become theories about reality.
These theories not only affect the way information is interpreted, thus affecting
and cultural truths to knowledge about the meaning of a particular word, to knowledge
about what patterns of excitations are associated with what letters of the alphabet. We
have schemata to represent all levels of our experience, at all levels of abstraction.
Finally, our schemata are our knowledge. All of our generic knowledge is embedded in
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schemata. (p. 41) The importance of schema theory to reading comprehension also lies
in how the reader uses schemata. This issue has not yet been resolved by research,
although investigators agree that some mechanism activates just those schemata most
There are several models based on cognitive processing (see Ruddell, Ruddell, & Singer,
attention. The first, alertness, is the reader's active attempt to access relevant schemata
Selectivity, the second characteristic, refers to the reader's ability to attend selectively
to only that information requiring processing. The third characteristic, limited capacity,
refers to the fact that our human brain has a limited amount of cognitive energy
available for use in processing information. In other words, if a reader's cognitive energy
combining the meanings of the words decoded, then comprehension will suffer.
occur when the reader cannot rapidly and automatically access the concepts and
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sequences, and so forth) are considered simultaneously. The implication is that when
information from one source, such as word recognition, is deficient, the reader will rely
compensatory because the reader (any reader) compensates for deficiencies in one or
sources. Those sources that are more concerned with concepts and semantic
relationships are termed higherlevel stimuli; sources dealing with the print itself, that is
phonics, sight words, and other word-attack skills, are termed lower level stimuli. The
processes when lower-level processes are inadequate, and vice versa. Stanovich (1980)
extensively reviews research demonstrating such compensation in both good and poor
processing model takes a constructivist view of reading comprehension; that is, the
reader, the text, the teacher, and the classroom community are all involved in the
construction of meaning. Ruddell and Ruddell (1994, p. 813) state, "The role of the
classroom's social context and the influence of the teacher on the reader's meaning
negotiation and construction are central to this model [developed by R. B. Ruddell and
N. J. Unrau] as it explores the notion that participants in literacy events form and reform
teachers, and other members of the classroom community. Schema for text meanings,
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academic tasks, sources of authority (i.e., residing within the text, the reader, the
settings are all brought to the negotiation task. The teacher's role is one of
Transactional The transactional model takes into account the dynamic nature of
language and both aesthetic and cognitive aspects of reading. According to Rosenblatt
reader and a particular pattern of signs, a text, and occurring at a particular time in a
particular context. Instead of two fixed entities acting on one another, the reader and
the text are two aspects of a total dynamic situation. The 'meaning' does not reside
ready-made 'in' the text or 'in' the reader but happens or comes into being during the
transaction between reader and text." Thus, text without a reader is merely a set of
transacts with the text, meaning happens. Schemata are not viewed as static but rather
as active, developing, and ever changing. As readers transact with text they are changed
or transformed, as is the text. Similarly, "the same text takes on different meanings in
transactions with different readers or even with the same reader in different contexts or
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is in the author and the reader. The text has a potential to evoke meaning but has no
meaning in itself; meaning is not a characteristic of texts. This does not mean the
characteristics of the text are unimportant or that either writer or reader are
independent of them. How well the writer constructs the text and how well the reader
reconstructs it and constructs meaning will influence comprehension. But meaning does
not pass between writer and reader. It is represented by a writer in a text and
constructed from a text by a reader. Characteristics of writer, text, and reader will all
the reader has a highly active role. It is the individual transactions between a reader and
the text characteristics that result in meaning. These characteristics include physical
text grammar such as that found in telephone books, recipe books, newspapers, and
letters; and wording of texts such as the differences found in narrative and expository
text. Understanding is limited, however, by the reader's schemata, making what the
reader brings to the text as important as the text itself. The writer also plays an
schemata are changed as new ways of organizing text to express meaning are
developed. According to Goodman (1994): How well the writer knows the audience and
has built the text to suit that audience makes a major difference in text predictability
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and comprehension. However, since comprehension results from reader-text
transactions, what the reader knows, who the reader is, what values guide the reader,
and what purposes or interests the reader has will play vital roles in the reading process.
It follows that what is comprehended from a given text varies among readers. Meaning
Attitude Mathewson's (1994) Model of Attitude Influence upon Reading and Learning to
Read is derived from the area of social psychology. This model attempts to explain the
roles of affect and cognition in reading comprehension. The core of the attitude-
influence model explains that a reader's whole attitude toward reading (i.e., prevailing
feelings and evaluative beliefs about reading and action readiness for reading) will
influence the intention to read, in turn influencing reading behavior. Intention to read is
proposed as the primary mediator between attitude and reading. Intention is defined as
"commitment to a plan for achieving one or more reading purposes at a more or less
specified time in the future" (Mathewson, 1994, p. 1135). All other moderator variables
(e.g., extrinsic motivation, involvement, prior knowledge, and purpose) are viewed as
reading tables, and areas with comfortable chairs will enhance students' intentions to
read. Mathewson (1994, p. 1148) states, "Favorable attitudes toward reading thus
sustain intention to read and reading as long as readers continue to be satisfied with
reading outcomes."
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Bibliography
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