What killed Ranjan Das(CEO of SAP labs) and Lessons for Corporate India
A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India. He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra's Carter Road. Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.
It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India. However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was anavid marathoner (in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.
Was it the stress?
A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.
The Real Reason
However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out':
http://connect.in.com/ranjan-das/play-video-boss-day-out-ranjan-das-of-sap-india-229111-807ecfcf1ad966036c289b3ba6c376f2530d7484.html
Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep (and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled).
The Evidence
Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject of ‘Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep’. While I cannot share the video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have distilled the key points below in the hope it will save some of our lives.
Some Excerpts:
• Short sleep duration (<5 or 5-6 hours) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009.
As you know, high BP kills.
• Young people (25-49 years of age) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.
• Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.
• Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!
• Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis andheart disease. Paper published in 2004.
• Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.
Ideal Sleep
For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.
The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.
For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess (lack of non-REM sleep), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down (I’ve been there, done that ☹)
Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.
In conclusion:
Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper food, exercising (marathoning!), maintaining proper weight. But he missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my opinion, that killed him.
If you are not getting enough sleep (7 hours), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.
I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do not even set the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse to get some more sleep. ☺
Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance
Nov 30, 2009
Nov 21, 2009
ఒక మంచి మాట
"మనుషులను వారి డీగ్రీలను, మేధోసంపత్తిని చూసి అంచనా వేయకండి. అతని మనసును, ఆలోచనా విధానాన్ని బట్టి అంచనా వేయండి." - మహాత్మాగాంధీ
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1.Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches ;)
2.Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever.
Never let the brain get idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!
3.Enjoy the simple things.
4.Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER.
5.The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. LIVE while you are alive.
6.Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.
7.Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it.
If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
8.Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county,
to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
9.Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
10.Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time.
Naaku 4th point bhale nachhesindhi..I lovee to laugh.What is life if u don't have a Sense of Humour.Cheppandi??
.
కాలాన్ని ఇమ్మని తప్ప మరేదైనా అడుగు ఇవ్వగలను. ఎందుకంటే అది ఒక్కటే నా చేతిలో లేనిది -- నేపోలిన్
Today, i got a very nice forward mail.So, thought of sharing with you all.Here it is:
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1.Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches ;)
2.Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever.
Never let the brain get idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!
3.Enjoy the simple things.
4.Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER.
5.The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. LIVE while you are alive.
6.Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.
7.Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it.
If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
8.Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county,
to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
9.Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
10.Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time.
Naaku 4th point bhale nachhesindhi..I lovee to laugh.What is life if u don't have a Sense of Humour.Cheppandi??
.
Late? Your boss won't believe your excuses
One in five respondents said long, over-complicated stories were the biggest giveaway. Almost a third said avoiding eye contact was another hint. A fifth of bosses said hearing the same excuse again and again made it less convincing, while 12 percent said any excuses given on a Monday morning were even less believable. Nearly two-third of employers believe that they were experienced enough to tell when an employee is lying about why they were delayed.
"As a nation, problems within our homes certainly seem to be a common reason given for lateness" . "If we are to believe even half the excuses included in this study, then we anticipate a lot of calls about emergency home cover or claims for accidental damage this winter,"
The next time you arrive late for work, don't start giving excuses to your boss, for a new study has found that employers don't believe excuses for not coming on time. The study involving 1,000 employers showed that just seven percent of them trusted the reasons that their employees give for being late.
One in five respondents said long, over-complicated stories were the biggest giveaway. Almost a third said avoiding eye contact was another hint. A fifth of bosses said hearing the same excuse again and again made it less convincing, while 12 percent said any excuses given on a Monday morning were even less believable. Nearly two-third of employers believe that they were experienced enough to tell when an employee is lying about why they were delayed.
"As a nation, problems within our homes certainly seem to be a common reason given for lateness" . "If we are to believe even half the excuses included in this study, then we anticipate a lot of calls about emergency home cover or claims for accidental damage this winter,"
But few of us will say like this :
I am very punctual in coming late to office. My management asked me to be punctual. But im on my own way. But if there is any internal meeting, client meeting etc. Im before time. For me business is business. Professionalism is not to have any excuse for clients. Other than that quality work n delivery matters. Management is comfortable on that. Comng late or soon is not the matter of professionalism. Once given responisblity to lead a team. Be on time. Even work or no work( :) )
Finally ,
Why to give a false excuse..?, just say the truth that i spelt for a long time. In india we work for 10-12 hours instead of the 9 hours. When most of the techies stay late & work for more hours till late night, the bosses should also expect that some times comming late is not a problem.
I worked for *** working 12-14 hrs a day from 9 Am to 9-10Pm & again go to office at 9 but some times i & my team mates reach at 10 or even 11 my boss doesnt had a problem with that since he knew we were working more that the usual office times just to complete the Project in time.
I worked for *** working 12-14 hrs a day from 9 Am to 9-10Pm & again go to office at 9 but some times i & my team mates reach at 10 or even 11 my boss doesnt had a problem with that since he knew we were working more that the usual office times just to complete the Project in time.
Men are more emotional than women
Paul Frijters, Queensland University of Technology, estimated the value of happiness in terms of cash for the major events in life like marriage, divorce and illness. Each of the event shows different results for men and women.
Losing a loved one has a much bigger effect than gaining a loved one. There's an asymmetry between life and death. This shouldn't surprise us. Human beings seem to notice losses more than gains.
Tying the knot makes men feel happy to the worth of 18,000 pounds while women experience the joy worth only half the amount.
Paul Frijters, Queensland University of Technology, estimated the value of happiness in terms of cash for the major events in life like marriage, divorce and illness. Each of the event shows different results for men and women.
Losing a loved one has a much bigger effect than gaining a loved one. There's an asymmetry between life and death. This shouldn't surprise us. Human beings seem to notice losses more than gains.
Food for ...
The stock market may go up and down, the economy may go boom or bust, but as writer Christopher Morley once said, "Words are a commodity in which there is never any slump."
Nov 10, 2009
An Open Letter to the Youth of India
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and trampled into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But disregard of what has happened or what will happen you will never lose your value. You are special and don’t ever forget this. Never let yesterday’s disappointments overshadow tomorrow’s dreams.
A Dream for Every One
Every one of you have a dream in your life. It’s normally a dream that needs nourishment all the time and a dream that you would like to live to relish. But sometimes your dreams slip by you, as you watch helplessly and it becomes an unfinished agenda in your life. Then it becomes one among the hundreds of thousands of dreams that are difficult for many of us to realize. When you don’t realize your dream, you tend to think that destiny has played in your life. You reconcile yourself with what is called fate and think you are a child of destiny. It all started with the belief that you are a typical child of destiny and started believing that you are indeed God’s child, programmed to-be-so and to-do-so. But the fact is different. You are here by choice. Not by design of destiny that has programmed you to be.
Do You Remember Those Days?
It has been many years since you last saw the beginnings and ends of academic sessions, semesters, and holidays. Do you remember those days in your college when you played tricks to bunk classes of the physics professor and the ‘reason’ to attend the classes of lecturer Latika. Do you still remember the days when you struggled to get some pocket money, enjoy eating the canteen food (have you ever measured the viscosity of the dhal supplied?), drinking ‘bi-two’ tea during the month end, going triples in your friend’s bike and not having the money to pay the fines to traffic cops (do you still call them uncles?), dreaming about the next door girl (is she still going to college with her father?), and finally thinking about your own future too?
You must have had the first crush while at school. The ‘special some one’ would have been your neighborhood beauty or your classmate or schoolmate or some one you met in your uncle’s party. You must have felt that the person was awesome. You must have liked the way your ‘special some one’ dressed, walked, and smiled at you. Then, again, you must have fallen in love with ‘some other special one’ in your life and thought you had found everlasting love. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Living with shattered dreams could do more damage than chain smoking (statutory warning), and of course not a nice feeling one could carry on with. But as the saying goes, life always gives you a second chance and one has to be an optimist always.
Evolution of ‘You’ in the ‘Youniverse’
At the age of five, your parents must have told you that you would become an engineer or doctor (because they liked the idea of their ward carrying a T-square or wearing a stethoscope around the neck - thanks to the many films they had seen); at 10 your uncle must have told you to study a foreign language; at 15 you must have decided to become a cricketer (because, it’s always nice to be famous and have lots of money, shoot for ad films, and party with the latest Bollywood stars, leave alone batting for India); and may be now you have realized that you should become a professional (whatever it takes to be). When you move forward and enter yet another year, you will realize that the dreams have faded away into mere memories while reality takes you forward. You certainly need someone to handhold you, mentor you, and put you on track. You need someone to administer the right treatment to make you a successful breed. In short, can we say you need some ‘uncle’ to help you realize your dreams or goals? But then who is this person and where on earth you can find him? The right way is to be yourself in the ’youniverse’ where every one wants you to be some one else and make the difference to be noticed and earn some recognition. You need to create a space for yourself in the ‘youniverse’ to become successful and I am sure the uncle will be glad to help you do so. A word of caution though, don’t try to impress a girl with the uncle’s riches, or else one day she might become your aunty.
So What are You Looking for?
So you must be wondering as to what are you supposed to do now? You are here, as I said earlier, by choice and not by design. You must now make the right choice and the right move by equipping yourself to be industry-ready. I am sure that you would know by now that you don’t get a second chance to make the first impression.
Have you ever thought about your future? A future that can give you a life filled with joy and a sense of fulfillment? Do you wish to carry forward and cherish all your dreams? Do you think that you ‘can do it’ in your life, or that you have to make compromises just because you are not going to get the immunity as a student any more and will have to face the cruel world? Did your father say that he too faced a cruel world and worked hard to bring you up? Don’t you think that you should break the shackles and break free and realize all your dreams? Don’t you think you should have the liberty to play your game in your own style, in your own pace, and on your own terms? All set in your ‘youniverse’, specially created for you.
How do you think you can do this? How can you bridge the gap between your long cherished dreams and your life? While you had seen the best of your college life, you should also get to know about your future that can possibly fulfill your dreams. Secure your future by making yourself ‘employable’ or ‘self employable’. Use the power of technology to achieve your personal aims and professional goals.
Be a Part of Knowledge Society
For fifty years we have been a developing nation; it is time we saw ourselves as a developed nation. We are among the top five nations of the world in terms of GDP. We have a growth rate of 10 percent in most areas. Our poverty levels are falling and our achievements are being globally recognized and appreciated today. India must stand up to the World; unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us as a nation - only strength respects strength. We must be strong, not only as a military power, but also as an economic power. This is our vision, and it can be none other than transforming India into a developed nation. The government alone cannot achieve this vision and we need a people’s movement in the country; and this is the time to ignite the minds of people to join this movement. We must all share this vision and deliver knowledge to the needy using innovative technologies. We must be committed to propel the national economy through a knowledge based eco system.
Our former president Abdul Kalam rightly said, “Ignited minds of the youth are the greatest resource compared to any resource of the earth, under the earth, and above the earth. When ignited minds work and perform with an indomitable spirit, a prosperous, happy, and safe India is assured.”
Powering India’s Knowledge Competency
With India’s seemingly endless flow of young and motivated engineers, scientists, and business managers offering world-class skills in almost every area of global business, we are emerging as the next ‘superpower’. It is heartening to note that we are poised for an explosive growth and are heralded as a potential economic superpower by 2020. But are we in a position to really live up to this expectation or will it just end up as a hollow hype? With many multi-national companies setting up operations in India, there is a sudden demand for skilled workforce in retail and the IT enabled services like BPO and KPO. There is a requirement of human potential to handle high volume business. To enable this we must adopt to smart technology assisted learning system and create a knowledge based eco system that can convert the erstwhile weakness (over population) into an opportunity (human resource based) by providing various reskilling and upskilling programs to the needy in association with experts in particular domains. There is a great demand for skilled professionals while the supply is low. Our universities are unable to bridge the gap and provide skilled manpower that the industries are looking for and hence there is a greater demand for adoption of technology to deliver knowledge on-demand.
Experts opine that there must be a skills based pedagogy built into our educational system to provide various means of reskilling or upskilling to the students in the science, commerce, engineering, and management disciplines and make them employable or job ready. These courses are more like vocational programs and they should be able to enhance the skills of students in order to make them ‘employable’ or ‘self employable’ or enable them to transform themselves from being job seekers to job providers. Our target should be the millions of graduates like you who have the energy to make this mission a reality. What is needed is the ‘hand holding’, a mentoring process by which we can make you become ‘job ready’. The focus should be to convert the human population into human potential and make one employable in the areas of his or her expertise.
What Next?
Do you know that the greatest distance between two people, the toughest communication between two hearts, and the longest journey between two places are ‘between you and your employer’? A dedicated approach towards life is absolutely essential for you to reach the stars. There is nothing impossible if you can believe in your dreams and work towards it. Your dreams should float impatiently in your mind till you reach your goal.
I sincerely believe that the dreams of one billion Indians can’t go wrong. You are one among them; don’t let your dream go wrong. We are here to incubate your dreams.
With sincere wishes for a successful tomorrow
Every one of you have a dream in your life. It’s normally a dream that needs nourishment all the time and a dream that you would like to live to relish. But sometimes your dreams slip by you, as you watch helplessly and it becomes an unfinished agenda in your life. Then it becomes one among the hundreds of thousands of dreams that are difficult for many of us to realize. When you don’t realize your dream, you tend to think that destiny has played in your life. You reconcile yourself with what is called fate and think you are a child of destiny. It all started with the belief that you are a typical child of destiny and started believing that you are indeed God’s child, programmed to-be-so and to-do-so. But the fact is different. You are here by choice. Not by design of destiny that has programmed you to be.
Do You Remember Those Days?
It has been many years since you last saw the beginnings and ends of academic sessions, semesters, and holidays. Do you remember those days in your college when you played tricks to bunk classes of the physics professor and the ‘reason’ to attend the classes of lecturer Latika. Do you still remember the days when you struggled to get some pocket money, enjoy eating the canteen food (have you ever measured the viscosity of the dhal supplied?), drinking ‘bi-two’ tea during the month end, going triples in your friend’s bike and not having the money to pay the fines to traffic cops (do you still call them uncles?), dreaming about the next door girl (is she still going to college with her father?), and finally thinking about your own future too?
You must have had the first crush while at school. The ‘special some one’ would have been your neighborhood beauty or your classmate or schoolmate or some one you met in your uncle’s party. You must have felt that the person was awesome. You must have liked the way your ‘special some one’ dressed, walked, and smiled at you. Then, again, you must have fallen in love with ‘some other special one’ in your life and thought you had found everlasting love. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Living with shattered dreams could do more damage than chain smoking (statutory warning), and of course not a nice feeling one could carry on with. But as the saying goes, life always gives you a second chance and one has to be an optimist always.
Evolution of ‘You’ in the ‘Youniverse’
At the age of five, your parents must have told you that you would become an engineer or doctor (because they liked the idea of their ward carrying a T-square or wearing a stethoscope around the neck - thanks to the many films they had seen); at 10 your uncle must have told you to study a foreign language; at 15 you must have decided to become a cricketer (because, it’s always nice to be famous and have lots of money, shoot for ad films, and party with the latest Bollywood stars, leave alone batting for India); and may be now you have realized that you should become a professional (whatever it takes to be). When you move forward and enter yet another year, you will realize that the dreams have faded away into mere memories while reality takes you forward. You certainly need someone to handhold you, mentor you, and put you on track. You need someone to administer the right treatment to make you a successful breed. In short, can we say you need some ‘uncle’ to help you realize your dreams or goals? But then who is this person and where on earth you can find him? The right way is to be yourself in the ’youniverse’ where every one wants you to be some one else and make the difference to be noticed and earn some recognition. You need to create a space for yourself in the ‘youniverse’ to become successful and I am sure the uncle will be glad to help you do so. A word of caution though, don’t try to impress a girl with the uncle’s riches, or else one day she might become your aunty.
So What are You Looking for?
So you must be wondering as to what are you supposed to do now? You are here, as I said earlier, by choice and not by design. You must now make the right choice and the right move by equipping yourself to be industry-ready. I am sure that you would know by now that you don’t get a second chance to make the first impression.
Have you ever thought about your future? A future that can give you a life filled with joy and a sense of fulfillment? Do you wish to carry forward and cherish all your dreams? Do you think that you ‘can do it’ in your life, or that you have to make compromises just because you are not going to get the immunity as a student any more and will have to face the cruel world? Did your father say that he too faced a cruel world and worked hard to bring you up? Don’t you think that you should break the shackles and break free and realize all your dreams? Don’t you think you should have the liberty to play your game in your own style, in your own pace, and on your own terms? All set in your ‘youniverse’, specially created for you.
How do you think you can do this? How can you bridge the gap between your long cherished dreams and your life? While you had seen the best of your college life, you should also get to know about your future that can possibly fulfill your dreams. Secure your future by making yourself ‘employable’ or ‘self employable’. Use the power of technology to achieve your personal aims and professional goals.
Be a Part of Knowledge Society
For fifty years we have been a developing nation; it is time we saw ourselves as a developed nation. We are among the top five nations of the world in terms of GDP. We have a growth rate of 10 percent in most areas. Our poverty levels are falling and our achievements are being globally recognized and appreciated today. India must stand up to the World; unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us as a nation - only strength respects strength. We must be strong, not only as a military power, but also as an economic power. This is our vision, and it can be none other than transforming India into a developed nation. The government alone cannot achieve this vision and we need a people’s movement in the country; and this is the time to ignite the minds of people to join this movement. We must all share this vision and deliver knowledge to the needy using innovative technologies. We must be committed to propel the national economy through a knowledge based eco system.
Our former president Abdul Kalam rightly said, “Ignited minds of the youth are the greatest resource compared to any resource of the earth, under the earth, and above the earth. When ignited minds work and perform with an indomitable spirit, a prosperous, happy, and safe India is assured.”
Powering India’s Knowledge Competency
With India’s seemingly endless flow of young and motivated engineers, scientists, and business managers offering world-class skills in almost every area of global business, we are emerging as the next ‘superpower’. It is heartening to note that we are poised for an explosive growth and are heralded as a potential economic superpower by 2020. But are we in a position to really live up to this expectation or will it just end up as a hollow hype? With many multi-national companies setting up operations in India, there is a sudden demand for skilled workforce in retail and the IT enabled services like BPO and KPO. There is a requirement of human potential to handle high volume business. To enable this we must adopt to smart technology assisted learning system and create a knowledge based eco system that can convert the erstwhile weakness (over population) into an opportunity (human resource based) by providing various reskilling and upskilling programs to the needy in association with experts in particular domains. There is a great demand for skilled professionals while the supply is low. Our universities are unable to bridge the gap and provide skilled manpower that the industries are looking for and hence there is a greater demand for adoption of technology to deliver knowledge on-demand.
Experts opine that there must be a skills based pedagogy built into our educational system to provide various means of reskilling or upskilling to the students in the science, commerce, engineering, and management disciplines and make them employable or job ready. These courses are more like vocational programs and they should be able to enhance the skills of students in order to make them ‘employable’ or ‘self employable’ or enable them to transform themselves from being job seekers to job providers. Our target should be the millions of graduates like you who have the energy to make this mission a reality. What is needed is the ‘hand holding’, a mentoring process by which we can make you become ‘job ready’. The focus should be to convert the human population into human potential and make one employable in the areas of his or her expertise.
What Next?
Do you know that the greatest distance between two people, the toughest communication between two hearts, and the longest journey between two places are ‘between you and your employer’? A dedicated approach towards life is absolutely essential for you to reach the stars. There is nothing impossible if you can believe in your dreams and work towards it. Your dreams should float impatiently in your mind till you reach your goal.
I sincerely believe that the dreams of one billion Indians can’t go wrong. You are one among them; don’t let your dream go wrong. We are here to incubate your dreams.
With sincere wishes for a successful tomorrow
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