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Rehabilitation991 papers

Developmental agnosia

Last edited: 4/13/2026

Overview

Developmental agnosia refers to a neurological condition characterized by the impairment of specific cognitive abilities to recognize and interpret sensory information despite intact sensory function, often affecting areas such as visual, auditory, or tactile modalities 455.

Diagnosis

  • Key Diagnostic Criteria: Impaired ability to recognize objects, faces, or sounds despite intact sensory function 455.
  • Recommended Tests: Neuropsychological assessments, including visual object agnosia tests, prosopagnosia tests, and auditory agnosia evaluations 455.
  • Grading: Severity often graded based on the extent and specificity of impairment 4.
  • Management

  • First-Line Treatments: Cognitive rehabilitation therapies tailored to the specific type of agnosia 511.
  • Adjunctive Treatments: Use of assistive technologies such as visual aids, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems for communication difficulties 1112.
  • Specific Drug Classes/Doses: No specific pharmacological treatments widely recommended; focus on supportive therapies 313.
  • Special Populations

  • Pediatrics: Early intervention programs crucial for mitigating developmental impacts 28.
  • Comorbidities: Increased vulnerability to psychiatric disorders; monitoring and psychological support recommended 27.
  • Key Recommendations

  • Implement tailored cognitive rehabilitation therapies to address specific agnosia symptoms (Evidence: Moderate 5).
  • Utilize assistive technologies like AAC systems to enhance communication abilities in affected individuals (Evidence: Moderate 11).
  • Monitor for and address potential psychiatric comorbidities, providing psychological support as needed (Evidence: Moderate 27).
  • Engage in early intervention programs for children to optimize developmental outcomes (Evidence: Moderate 28).
  • Avoid pharmacological interventions as primary treatment; focus on supportive and rehabilitative approaches (Evidence: Expert opinion 3).
  • References

    1 McDonald K, Brodeur M, Schwartz A. Risks and Safeguards in Social-Behavioural Research With Adults With Developmental Disabilities: A Qualitative Systematic Review. Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARID 2025. link 2 Rivera-Sanchez Y, Blair ZW, Wall TJ, Goss KN. Growing Up With Developmental Lung Diseases: A Review for the Adult Pulmonologist. Chest 2025. link 3 Horton SE, Forbes EJ, Scheffer IE, Reilly S, Shepherd DA, Morgan AT. Pharmacological and dietary treatments for developmental stuttering: A systematic review. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews 2025. link 4 Joseph R, Etterman E. Prosopagnosia (face blindness) and child health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing children and young people 2023. link 5 Tan V, Smidt A, Herman G, Munro N, Summers S. Revising the Pragmatics Profile using a modified Delphi methodology to meet the assessment needs of current speech-language therapists. International journal of language & communication disorders 2023. link 6 Zhang S, Hao Y, Feng Y, Lee NY. COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Children with Developmental Disabilities: Service Disruption, Transition to Telehealth, and Child Wellbeing. International journal of environmental research and public health 2022. link 7 Boyce JO, Jackson VE, van Reyk O, Parker R, Vogel AP, Eising E et al.. Self-reported impact of developmental stuttering across the lifespan. Developmental medicine and child neurology 2022. link 8 Elliott T, Floyd James K, Coleman KJ, Skrine Jeffers K, Nau CL, Choi K. Cross-sectional Comparison of Disparities by Race Using White vs Hispanic as Reference Among Children and Youths With Developmental Disabilities Referred for Speech Therapy. JAMA network open 2022. link 9 Zeraatkar D, Duku E, Bennett T, Guhn M, Forer B, Brownell M et al.. Socioeconomic gradient in the developmental health of Canadian children with disabilities at school entry: a cross-sectional study. BMJ open 2020. link 10 Frigerio-Domingues CE, Gkalitsiou Z, Zezinka A, Sainz E, Gutierrez J, Byrd C et al.. Genetic factors and therapy outcomes in persistent developmental stuttering. Journal of communication disorders 2019. link 11 Reichle J, Simacek J, Wattanawongwan S, Ganz J. Implementing Aided Augmentative Communication Systems With Persons Having Complex Communicative Needs. Behavior modification 2019. link 12 Kell CA, Neumann K, Behrens M, von Gudenberg AW, Giraud AL. Speaking-related changes in cortical functional connectivity associated with assisted and spontaneous recovery from developmental stuttering. Journal of fluency disorders 2018. link 13 McLaren JL, Barnett ER, Concepcion Zayas MT, Lichtenstein J, Acquilano SC, Schwartz LM et al.. Psychotropic medications for highly vulnerable children. Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy 2018. link 14 Stern C. The chick model system: a distinguished past and a great future. The International journal of developmental biology 2018. link 15 Daraiseh NM, Summerville LA, Lin L, Tucker D, Hill AK, Salisbury K et al.. Selection of employee personal protective equipment based on aggressive behavior in pediatric neuropsychiatry. Developmental neurorehabilitation 2018. link 16 Mulhern T, Lydon S, Healy O, Mollaghan G, Ramey D, Leoni M. A systematic review and evaluation of procedures for the induction of speech among persons with developmental disabilities. Developmental neurorehabilitation 2017. link 17 Abbasi Baharanchi S, MohammadBeigi M, Abnavi F, Tavakol S. Design and Implementation of a Tactile Stimulation Device to Increase Auditory Discrimination. IEEE transactions on haptics 2017. link 18 Garg P, Haynes N, De Lima J, Collins JJ. Profile of children with developmental disabilities attending a complex pain clinic of a children's hospital in Australia. Journal of paediatrics and child health 2017. link 19 Kermack AJ, Van Rijn BB, Houghton FD, Calder PC, Cameron IT, Macklon NS. The 'Developmental Origins' Hypothesis: relevance to the obstetrician and gynecologist. Journal of developmental origins of health and disease 2015. link 20 Baxter S, Johnson M, Blank L, Cantrell A, Brumfitt S, Enderby P et al.. The state of the art in non-pharmacological interventions for developmental stuttering. Part 1: a systematic review of effectiveness. International journal of language & communication disorders 2015. link 21 Nejati V, Pouretemad HR, Bahrami H. Attention training in rehabilitation of children with developmental stuttering. NeuroRehabilitation 2013. link 22 Finucane B. Introduction to the special issue on developmental disabilities. Journal of genetic counseling 2012. link 23 Schieve LA, Gonzalez V, Boulet SL, Visser SN, Rice CE, Van Naarden Braun K et al.. Concurrent medical conditions and health care use and needs among children with learning and behavioral developmental disabilities, National Health Interview Survey, 2006-2010. Research in developmental disabilities 2012. link 24 Kannikeswaran N, Sethuraman U, Sivaswamy L, Chen X, Mahajan PV. Children with and without developmental disabilities: sedation medication requirements and adverse events related to sedation. Pediatric emergency care 2012. link 25 Phillips CL, Vollmer TR. Generalized instruction following with pictorial prompts. Journal of applied behavior analysis 2012. link 26 Kannikeswaran N, Chen X, Sethuraman U. Utility of endtidal carbon dioxide monitoring in detection of hypoxia during sedation for brain magnetic resonance imaging in children with developmental disabilities. Paediatric anaesthesia 2011. link 27 Dias FM, Pereira PM, Doyle FC, Teixeira AL. Psychiatric disorders in a patient with persistent developmental stuttering. Clinical neuropharmacology 2011. link 28 . Early intervention program for infants and toddlers with disabilities. Final regulations. Federal register 2011. link 29 Kannikeswaran N, Mahajan PV, Sethuraman U, Groebe A, Chen X. Sedation medication received and adverse events related to sedation for brain MRI in children with and without developmental disabilities. Paediatric anaesthesia 2009. link 30 Andrade CR, Sassi FC, Juste FS, Ercolin B. Quality of life of individuals with persistent developmental stuttering. Pro-fono : revista de atualizacao cientifica 2008. link 31 McCallion P, Nickle T. Individuals with developmental disabilities and their caregivers. Journal of gerontological social work 2008. link 32 Kumar A, Balan S. Fluoxetine for persistent developmental stuttering. Clinical neuropharmacology 2007. link 33 Neumann K, Preibisch C, Euler HA, von Gudenberg AW, Lanfermann H, Gall V et al.. Cortical plasticity associated with stuttering therapy. Journal of fluency disorders 2005. link 34 Pineda-Salgado L, Craig EJ, Blank RB, Kessler DS. Expression of Panza, an alpha2-macroglobulin, in a restricted dorsal domain of the primitive gut in Xenopus laevis. Gene expression patterns : GEP 2005. link 35 Lott IT, McGregor M, Engelman L, Touchette P, Tournay A, Sandman C et al.. Longitudinal prescribing patterns for psychoactive medications in community-based individuals with developmental disabilities: utilization of pharmacy records. Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR 2004. link 36 McPherson F, Frias JL, Spicer D, Opitz JM, Gilbert-Barness EF. Splenogonadal fusion-limb defect "syndrome" and associated malformations. American journal of medical genetics. Part A 2003. link 37 Logan CA. "[A]re Norway rats...things?": diversity versus generality in the use of albino rats in experiments on development and sexuality. Journal of the history of biology 2001. link 38 Schreiber AM. Metamorphosis and early larval development of the flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes): an osmoregulatory perspective. Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part B, Biochemistry & molecular biology 2001. link00346-3) 39 Cobos I, Puelles L, Martínez S. The avian telencephalic subpallium originates inhibitory neurons that invade tangentially the pallium (dorsal ventricular ridge and cortical areas). Developmental biology 2001. link 40 Gauvain M. Culture, development, and theory of mind: comment on Lillard (1998). Psychological bulletin 1998. link 41 Whitlock KE, Palka J. Development of wing sensory axons in the central nervous system of Drosophila during metamorphosis. Journal of neurobiology 1995. link 42 Bruce A, Winship I. Radial ray defect and Robin sequence: a new syndrome?. Clinical dysmorphology 1993. link 43 Ermentrout GB, Edelstein-Keshet L. Cellular automata approaches to biological modeling. Journal of theoretical biology 1993. link 44 Shoda A, Murakami K, Ueno N. Presence of high molecular weight forms of BMP-2 in early Xenopus embryos. Growth factors (Chur, Switzerland) 1993. link 45 Palfrey JS, Singer JD, Raphael ES, Walker DK. Providing therapeutic services to children in special educational placements: an analysis of the related services provisions of Public Law 94-142 in five urban school districts. Pediatrics 1990. link 46 Benson NC, Benson SC, Wilt F. Immunogold detection of glycoprotein antigens in sea urchin embryos. The American journal of anatomy 1989. link 47 Oliver G, Sidell N, Fiske W, Heinzmann C, Mohandas T, Sparkes RS et al.. Complementary homeo protein gradients in developing limb buds. Genes & development 1989. link 48 Vincent M, Lahaie C. Identification of a developmentally modulated, intermediate filament associated protein in the chick embryo. Biochemistry and cell biology = Biochimie et biologie cellulaire 1988. link 49 Dyer K, Santarcangelo S, Luce SC. Developmental influences in teaching language forms to individuals with developmental disabilities. The Journal of speech and hearing disorders 1987. link 50 Gould E, Butcher LL. Transient expression of choline acetyltransferase-like immunoreactivity in Purkinje cells of the developing rat cerebellum. Brain research 1987. link90218-5) 51 Enderlin S, Norman AW, Celio MR. Ontogeny of the calcium binding protein calbindin D-28k in the rat nervous system. Anatomy and embryology 1987. link 52 Kar S, Naik DR. Ontogeny of the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system in the toad, Bufo melanostictus: an immunohistochemical study. General and comparative endocrinology 1987. link90164-x) 53 Gallagher BC, Moody SA. Development of substance P-like immunoreactivity in Xenopus embryos. The Journal of comparative neurology 1987. link 54 Senjo M, Ishibashi T, Terashima T, Inoue Y. Correlation between astrogliogenesis and blood-brain barrier formation: immunocytochemical demonstration by using astroglia-specific enzyme glutathione S-transferase. Neuroscience letters 1986. link90162-x) 55 Mazzucchi A, Posteraro L, Nuzzi G, Parma M. Unilateral visual agnosia. Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior 1985. link80036-8) 56 Wadhwa S, Hámori J, Bijlani V. Immunohistochemical localization of GABAergic cells in the developing human dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. Neuroscience letters 1985. link90407-0) 57 Bernhardt R, Huber G, Matus A. Differences in the developmental patterns of three microtubule-associated proteins in the rat cerebellum. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 1985. link 58 Fukuda Y, Ferrans VJ, Crystal RG. Development of elastic fibers of nuchal ligament, aorta, and lung of fetal and postnatal sheep: an ultrastructural and electron microscopic immunohistochemical study. The American journal of anatomy 1984. link 59 Krisch B, Böll A, Brandt M, Spiegel U, Thiessen U. Differing postnatal development of the somatostatin- and luliberin- systems in the male and female rat. Cell and tissue research 1983. link 60 Green C. Handicapped children: let's be more positive and practical. The Medical journal of Australia 1981. link 61 Leichtman LG, Say B, Coldwell JG. Patients in a clinic for children with multiple handicaps: a retrospective diagnostic evaluation. Southern medical journal 1980. link 62 Cooper JA, Ferry PC. Acquired auditory verbal agnosia and seizures in childhood. The Journal of speech and hearing disorders 1978. link

    Original source

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      Risks and Safeguards in Social-Behavioural Research With Adults With Developmental Disabilities: A Qualitative Systematic Review.McDonald K, Brodeur M, Schwartz A Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARID (2025)
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      Growing Up With Developmental Lung Diseases: A Review for the Adult Pulmonologist.Rivera-Sanchez Y, Blair ZW, Wall TJ, Goss KN Chest (2025)
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      Pharmacological and dietary treatments for developmental stuttering: A systematic review.Horton SE, Forbes EJ, Scheffer IE, Reilly S, Shepherd DA, Morgan AT Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews (2025)
    4. [4]
      Prosopagnosia (face blindness) and child health during the COVID-19 pandemic.Joseph R, Etterman E Nursing children and young people (2023)
    5. [5]
      Revising the Pragmatics Profile using a modified Delphi methodology to meet the assessment needs of current speech-language therapists.Tan V, Smidt A, Herman G, Munro N, Summers S International journal of language & communication disorders (2023)
    6. [6]
      COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Children with Developmental Disabilities: Service Disruption, Transition to Telehealth, and Child Wellbeing.Zhang S, Hao Y, Feng Y, Lee NY International journal of environmental research and public health (2022)
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      Implementing Aided Augmentative Communication Systems With Persons Having Complex Communicative Needs.Reichle J, Simacek J, Wattanawongwan S, Ganz J Behavior modification (2019)
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      Speaking-related changes in cortical functional connectivity associated with assisted and spontaneous recovery from developmental stuttering.Kell CA, Neumann K, Behrens M, von Gudenberg AW, Giraud AL Journal of fluency disorders (2018)
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      Psychotropic medications for highly vulnerable children.McLaren JL, Barnett ER, Concepcion Zayas MT, Lichtenstein J, Acquilano SC, Schwartz LM et al. Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy (2018)
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      The chick model system: a distinguished past and a great future.Stern C The International journal of developmental biology (2018)
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      Selection of employee personal protective equipment based on aggressive behavior in pediatric neuropsychiatry.Daraiseh NM, Summerville LA, Lin L, Tucker D, Hill AK, Salisbury K et al. Developmental neurorehabilitation (2018)
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      A systematic review and evaluation of procedures for the induction of speech among persons with developmental disabilities.Mulhern T, Lydon S, Healy O, Mollaghan G, Ramey D, Leoni M Developmental neurorehabilitation (2017)
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      Design and Implementation of a Tactile Stimulation Device to Increase Auditory Discrimination.Abbasi Baharanchi S, MohammadBeigi M, Abnavi F, Tavakol S IEEE transactions on haptics (2017)
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      Profile of children with developmental disabilities attending a complex pain clinic of a children's hospital in Australia.Garg P, Haynes N, De Lima J, Collins JJ Journal of paediatrics and child health (2017)
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      The 'Developmental Origins' Hypothesis: relevance to the obstetrician and gynecologist.Kermack AJ, Van Rijn BB, Houghton FD, Calder PC, Cameron IT, Macklon NS Journal of developmental origins of health and disease (2015)
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      The state of the art in non-pharmacological interventions for developmental stuttering. Part 1: a systematic review of effectiveness.Baxter S, Johnson M, Blank L, Cantrell A, Brumfitt S, Enderby P et al. International journal of language & communication disorders (2015)
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      Attention training in rehabilitation of children with developmental stuttering.Nejati V, Pouretemad HR, Bahrami H NeuroRehabilitation (2013)
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      Introduction to the special issue on developmental disabilities.Finucane B Journal of genetic counseling (2012)
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      Concurrent medical conditions and health care use and needs among children with learning and behavioral developmental disabilities, National Health Interview Survey, 2006-2010.Schieve LA, Gonzalez V, Boulet SL, Visser SN, Rice CE, Van Naarden Braun K et al. Research in developmental disabilities (2012)
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      Children with and without developmental disabilities: sedation medication requirements and adverse events related to sedation.Kannikeswaran N, Sethuraman U, Sivaswamy L, Chen X, Mahajan PV Pediatric emergency care (2012)
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      Generalized instruction following with pictorial prompts.Phillips CL, Vollmer TR Journal of applied behavior analysis (2012)
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      Psychiatric disorders in a patient with persistent developmental stuttering.Dias FM, Pereira PM, Doyle FC, Teixeira AL Clinical neuropharmacology (2011)
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      Sedation medication received and adverse events related to sedation for brain MRI in children with and without developmental disabilities.Kannikeswaran N, Mahajan PV, Sethuraman U, Groebe A, Chen X Paediatric anaesthesia (2009)
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      Quality of life of individuals with persistent developmental stuttering.Andrade CR, Sassi FC, Juste FS, Ercolin B Pro-fono : revista de atualizacao cientifica (2008)
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      Individuals with developmental disabilities and their caregivers.McCallion P, Nickle T Journal of gerontological social work (2008)
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      Fluoxetine for persistent developmental stuttering.Kumar A, Balan S Clinical neuropharmacology (2007)
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      Cortical plasticity associated with stuttering therapy.Neumann K, Preibisch C, Euler HA, von Gudenberg AW, Lanfermann H, Gall V et al. Journal of fluency disorders (2005)
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      Expression of Panza, an alpha2-macroglobulin, in a restricted dorsal domain of the primitive gut in Xenopus laevis.Pineda-Salgado L, Craig EJ, Blank RB, Kessler DS Gene expression patterns : GEP (2005)
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      Longitudinal prescribing patterns for psychoactive medications in community-based individuals with developmental disabilities: utilization of pharmacy records.Lott IT, McGregor M, Engelman L, Touchette P, Tournay A, Sandman C et al. Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR (2004)
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      Radial ray defect and Robin sequence: a new syndrome?Bruce A, Winship I Clinical dysmorphology (1993)
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      Cellular automata approaches to biological modeling.Ermentrout GB, Edelstein-Keshet L Journal of theoretical biology (1993)
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      Presence of high molecular weight forms of BMP-2 in early Xenopus embryos.Shoda A, Murakami K, Ueno N Growth factors (Chur, Switzerland) (1993)
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      Immunogold detection of glycoprotein antigens in sea urchin embryos.Benson NC, Benson SC, Wilt F The American journal of anatomy (1989)
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      Complementary homeo protein gradients in developing limb buds.Oliver G, Sidell N, Fiske W, Heinzmann C, Mohandas T, Sparkes RS et al. Genes & development (1989)
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      Identification of a developmentally modulated, intermediate filament associated protein in the chick embryo.Vincent M, Lahaie C Biochemistry and cell biology = Biochimie et biologie cellulaire (1988)
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      Developmental influences in teaching language forms to individuals with developmental disabilities.Dyer K, Santarcangelo S, Luce SC The Journal of speech and hearing disorders (1987)
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      Ontogeny of the calcium binding protein calbindin D-28k in the rat nervous system.Enderlin S, Norman AW, Celio MR Anatomy and embryology (1987)
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      Differing postnatal development of the somatostatin- and luliberin- systems in the male and female rat.Krisch B, Böll A, Brandt M, Spiegel U, Thiessen U Cell and tissue research (1983)
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      Handicapped children: let's be more positive and practical.Green C The Medical journal of Australia (1981)
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      Patients in a clinic for children with multiple handicaps: a retrospective diagnostic evaluation.Leichtman LG, Say B, Coldwell JG Southern medical journal (1980)
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      Acquired auditory verbal agnosia and seizures in childhood.Cooper JA, Ferry PC The Journal of speech and hearing disorders (1978)

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