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Combinatorics Difficulty 8.9 Shortlist Prove it IMO

Let P1,,PsP_{1}, \ldots, P_{s} be arithmetic progressions of integers, the following conditions being satisfied:
(i) each integer belongs to at least one of them;
(ii) each progression contains a number which does not belong to other progressions.
Denote by nn the least common multiple of steps of these progressions; let n=p1α1pkαkn=p_{1}^{\alpha_{1}} \ldots p_{k}^{\alpha_{k}} be its prime factorization. Prove that
s1+i=1kαi(pi1) s \geq 1+\sum_{i=1}^{k} \alpha_{i}\left(p_{i}-1\right)

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

First, we prove the key lemma, and then we show how to apply it to finish the solution.
Let n1,,nkn_{1}, \ldots, n_{k} be positive integers. By an n1×n2××nkn_{1} \times n_{2} \times \cdots \times n_{k} grid we mean the set N={(a1,,ak):aiZ,0aini1}N= \left\{\left(a_{1}, \ldots, a_{k}\right): a_{i} \in \mathbb{Z}, 0 \leq a_{i} \leq n_{i}-1\right\}; the elements of NN will be referred to as points. In this grid, we define a subgrid as a subset of the form
L={(b1,,bk)N:bi1=xi1,,bit=xit} \begin{equation*} L=\left\{\left(b_{1}, \ldots, b_{k}\right) \in N: b_{i_{1}}=x_{i_{1}}, \ldots, b_{i_{t}}=x_{i_{t}}\right\} \tag{1} \end{equation*}
where I={i1,,it}I=\left\{i_{1}, \ldots, i_{t}\right\} is an arbitrary nonempty set of indices, and xij[0,nij1]x_{i_{j}} \in [0, n_{i_{j}}-1] (1jt)(1 \leq j \leq t) are fixed integer numbers. Further, we say that a subgrid (1) is orthogonal to the iith coordinate axis if iIi \in I, and that it is parallel to the iith coordinate axis otherwise.

Lemma. Assume that the grid NN is covered by subgrids L1,L2,,LsL_{1}, L_{2}, \ldots, L_{s} (this means N=i=1sLiN=\bigcup_{i=1}^{s} L_{i} ) so that
(ii') each subgrid contains a point which is not covered by other subgrids;
(iii) for each coordinate axis, there exists a subgrid LiL_{i} orthogonal to this axis.
Then
s1+i=1k(ni1) s \geq 1+\sum_{i=1}^{k}\left(n_{i}-1\right)
Proof. Assume to the contrary that si(ni1)=ss \leq \sum_{i}\left(n_{i}-1\right)=s'. Our aim is to find a point that is not covered by L1,,LsL_{1}, \ldots, L_{s}.
The idea of the proof is the following. Imagine that we expand each subgrid to some maximal subgrid so that for the iith axis, there will be at most ni1n_{i}-1 maximal subgrids orthogonal to this axis. Then the desired point can be found easily: its iith coordinate should be that not covered by the maximal subgrids orthogonal to the iith axis. Surely, the conditions for existence of such expansion are provided by Hall's lemma on matchings. So, we will follow this direction, although we will apply Hall's lemma to some subgraph instead of the whole graph.
Construct a bipartite graph G=(VV,E)G=\left(V \cup V', E\right) as follows. Let V={L1,,Ls}V=\left\{L_{1}, \ldots, L_{s}\right\}, and let V={vij:1is,1jni1}V'=\left\{v_{ij}: 1 \leq i \leq s, 1 \leq j \leq n_{i}-1\right\} be some set of ss' elements. Further, let the edge (Lm,vij)\left(L_{m}, v_{ij}\right) appear iff LmL_{m} is orthogonal to the iith axis.
For each subset WVW \subset V, denote
f(W)={vV:(L,v)E for some LW} f(W)=\left\{v \in V':(L, v) \in E \text{ for some } L \in W\right\}
Notice that f(V)=Vf(V)=V' by (iii).
Now, consider the set WVW \subset V containing the maximal number of elements such that W>f(W)|W|> |f(W)|; if there is no such set then we set W=W=\varnothing. Denote W=f(W),U=V\W,U=V\WW'=f(W), U=V \backslash W, U'=V' \backslash W'.
By our assumption and the Lemma condition, f(V)=VV|f(V)|=|V'| \geq|V|, hence WVW \neq V and UU \neq \varnothing. Permuting the coordinates, we can assume that U={vij:1i},W={vij:+1ik}U'=\left\{v_{ij}: 1 \leq i \leq \ell\right\}, W'=\left\{v_{ij}: \ell+1 \leq i \leq k\right\}.
Consider the induced subgraph GG' of GG on the vertices UUU \cup U'. We claim that for every XUX \subset U, we get f(X)UX|f(X) \cap U'| \geq|X| (so GG' satisfies the conditions of Hall's lemma). Actually, we have Wf(W)|W| \geq|f(W)|, so if X>f(X)U|X|>|f(X) \cap U'| for some XUX \subset U, then we have
WX=W+X>f(W)+f(X)U=f(W)(f(X)U)=f(WX). |W \cup X|=|W|+|X|>|f(W)|+|f(X) \cap U'|=|f(W) \cup (f(X) \cap U')|=|f(W \cup X)| .
This contradicts the maximality of W|W|.
Thus, applying Hall's lemma, we can assign to each LUL \in U some vertex vijUv_{ij} \in U' so that to distinct elements of UU, distinct vertices of UU' are assigned. In this situation, we say that LUL \in U corresponds to the iith axis, and write g(L)=ig(L)=i. Since there are ni1n_{i}-1 vertices of the form vijv_{ij}, we get that for each 1i1 \leq i \leq \ell, not more than ni1n_{i}-1 subgrids correspond to the iith axis.
Finally, we are ready to present the desired point. Since WVW \neq V, there exists a point b=(b1,b2,,bk)N\(LWL)b=\left(b_{1}, b_{2}, \ldots, b_{k}\right) \in N \backslash\left(\cup_{L \in W} L\right). On the other hand, for every 1i1 \leq i \leq \ell, consider any subgrid LUL \in U with g(L)=ig(L)=i. This means exactly that LL is orthogonal to the iith axis, and hence all its elements have the same iith coordinate cLc_{L}. Since there are at most ni1n_{i}-1 such subgrids, there exists a number 0aini10 \leq a_{i} \leq n_{i}-1 which is not contained in a set {cL:g(L)=i}\left\{c_{L}: g(L)=i\right\}. Choose such number for every 1i1 \leq i \leq \ell. Now we claim that point a=(a1,,a,b+1,,bk)a=\left(a_{1}, \ldots, a_{\ell}, b_{\ell+1}, \ldots, b_{k}\right) is not covered, hence contradicting the Lemma condition.
Surely, point aa cannot lie in some LUL \in U, since all the points in LL have g(L)g(L)th coordinate cLag(L)c_{L} \neq a_{g(L)}. On the other hand, suppose that aLa \in L for some LWL \in W; recall that bLb \notin L. But the points aa and bb differ only at first \ell coordinates, so LL should be orthogonal to at least one of the first \ell axes, and hence our graph contains some edge (L,vij)\left(L, v_{ij}\right) for ii \leq \ell. It contradicts the definition of WW'. The Lemma is proved.

Now we turn to the problem. Let djd_{j} be the step of the progression PjP_{j}. Note that since n=n= l.c.m. (d1,,ds)\left(d_{1}, \ldots, d_{s}\right), for each 1ik1 \leq i \leq k there exists an index j(i)j(i) such that piαidj(i)p_{i}^{\alpha_{i}} \mid d_{j(i)}. We assume that n>1n>1; otherwise the problem statement is trivial.
For each 0mn10 \leq m \leq n-1 and 1ik1 \leq i \leq k, let mim_{i} be the residue of mm modulo piαip_{i}^{\alpha_{i}}, and let mi=riαiri1m_{i}=\overline{r_{i\alpha_{i}} \ldots r_{i1}} be the base pip_{i} representation of mim_{i} (possibly, with some leading zeroes). Now, we put into correspondence to mm the sequence r(m)=(r11,,r1α1,r21,,rkαk)r(m)=\left(r_{11}, \ldots, r_{1\alpha_{1}}, r_{21}, \ldots, r_{k\alpha_{k}}\right). Hence r(m)r(m) lies in a p1××p1α1 times××pk××pkαk timesgridN\underbrace{p_{1} \times \cdots \times p_{1}}_{\alpha_{1} \text{ times}} \times \cdots \times \underbrace{p_{k} \times \cdots \times p_{k}}_{\alpha_{k} \text{ times}} \operatorname{grid} N.
Surely, if r(m)=r(m)r(m)=r\left(m'\right) then piαimimip_{i}^{\alpha_{i}} \mid m_{i}-m_{i}', which follows piαimmp_{i}^{\alpha_{i}} \mid m-m' for all 1ik1 \leq i \leq k; consequently, nmmn \mid m-m'. So, when mm runs over the set {0,,n1}\{0, \ldots, n-1\}, the sequences r(m)r(m) do not repeat; since N=n|N|=n, this means that rr is a bijection between {0,,n1}\{0, \ldots, n-1\} and NN. Now we will show that for each 1is1 \leq i \leq s, the set Li={r(m):mPi}L_{i}=\left\{r(m): m \in P_{i}\right\} is a subgrid, and that for each axis there exists a subgrid orthogonal to this axis. Obviously, these subgrids cover NN, and the condition (ii') follows directly from (ii). Hence the Lemma provides exactly the estimate we need.
Consider some 1js1 \leq j \leq s and let dj=p1γ1pkγkd_{j}=p_{1}^{\gamma_{1}} \ldots p_{k}^{\gamma_{k}}. Consider some qPjq \in P_{j} and let r(q)=(r11,,rkαk)r(q)= \left(r_{11}, \ldots, r_{k\alpha_{k}}\right). Then for an arbitrary qq', setting r(q)=(r11,,rkαk)r\left(q'\right)=\left(r_{11}', \ldots, r_{k\alpha_{k}}'\right) we have
qPjpiγiqq for each 1ikri,t=ri,t for all tγi. q' \in P_{j} \quad \Longleftrightarrow \quad p_{i}^{\gamma_{i}} \mid q-q' \text{ for each } 1 \leq i \leq k \quad \Longleftrightarrow \quad r_{i, t}=r_{i, t}' \text{ for all } t \leq \gamma_{i} .
Hence Lj={(r11,,rkαk)N:ri,t=ri,tL_{j}=\left\{\left(r_{11}', \ldots, r_{k\alpha_{k}}'\right) \in N: r_{i, t}=r_{i, t}'\right. for all tγi}\left.t \leq \gamma_{i}\right\} which means that LjL_{j} is a subgrid containing r(q)r(q). Moreover, in Lj(i)L_{j(i)}, all the coordinates corresponding to pip_{i} are fixed, so it is orthogonal to all of their axes, as desired.

Comment 1. The estimate in the problem is sharp for every nn. One of the possible examples is the following one. For each 1ik,0jαi1,1kp11 \leq i \leq k, 0 \leq j \leq \alpha_{i}-1,1 \leq k \leq p-1, let
Pi,j,k=kpij+pij+1Z P_{i, j, k}=k p_{i}^{j}+p_{i}^{j+1} \mathbb{Z}
and add the progression P0=nZP_{0}=n \mathbb{Z}. One can easily check that this set satisfies all the problem conditions. There also exist other examples.
On the other hand, the estimate can be adjusted in the following sense. For every 1ik1 \leq i \leq k, let 0=αi0,αi1,,αihi0=\alpha_{i0}, \alpha_{i1}, \ldots, \alpha_{ih_{i}} be all the numbers of the form ordpi(dj)\operatorname{ord}_{p_{i}}\left(d_{j}\right) in an increasing order (we delete the repeating occurences of a number, and add a number 0=αi00=\alpha_{i0} if it does not occur). Then, repeating the arguments from the solution one can obtain that
s1+i=1kj=1hi(pαjαj11) s \geq 1+\sum_{i=1}^{k} \sum_{j=1}^{h_{i}}\left(p^{\alpha_{j}-\alpha_{j-1}}-1\right)
Note that pα1α(p1)p^{\alpha}-1 \geq \alpha(p-1), and the equality is achieved only for α=1\alpha=1. Hence, for reaching the minimal number of the progressions, one should have αi,j=j\alpha_{i, j}=j for all i,ji, j. In other words, for each 1jαi1 \leq j \leq \alpha_{i}, there should be an index tt such that ordpi(dt)=j\operatorname{ord}_{p_{i}}\left(d_{t}\right)=j.

Solution 2

We start with introducing some notation. For positive integer rr, we denote [r]={1,2,,r}[r]=\{1,2, \ldots, r\}. Next, we say that a set of progressions P={P1,,Ps}\mathcal{P}=\{P_{1}, \ldots, P_{s}\} cover Z\mathbb{Z} if each integer belongs to some of them; we say that this covering is minimal if no proper subset of P\mathcal{P} covers Z\mathbb{Z}. Obviously, each covering contains a minimal subcovering.

Next, for a minimal covering {P1,,Ps}\{P_{1}, \ldots, P_{s}\} and for every 1is1 \leq i \leq s, let did_{i} be the step of progression PiP_{i}, and hih_{i} be some number which is contained in PiP_{i} but in none of the other progressions. We assume that n>1n>1, otherwise the problem is trivial. This implies di>1d_{i}>1, otherwise the progression PiP_{i} covers all the numbers, and n=1n=1.

We will prove a more general statement, namely the following

Claim. Assume that the progressions P1,,PsP_{1}, \ldots, P_{s} and number n=p1α1pkαk>1n=p_{1}^{\alpha_{1}} \ldots p_{k}^{\alpha_{k}}>1 are chosen as in the problem statement. Moreover, choose some nonempty set of indices I={i1,,it}[k]I=\{i_{1}, \ldots, i_{t}\} \subseteq[k] and some positive integer βiαi\beta_{i} \leq \alpha_{i} for every iIi \in I. Consider the set of indices
T={j:1js, and piαiβi+1dj for some iI} T=\{j: 1 \leq j \leq s, \text{ and } p_{i}^{\alpha_{i}-\beta_{i}+1} \mid d_{j} \text{ for some } i \in I\}
Then
T1+iIβi(pi1) \begin{equation*} |T| \geq 1+\sum_{i \in I} \beta_{i}\left(p_{i}-1\right) \tag{2} \end{equation*}
Observe that the Claim for I=[k]I=[k] and βi=αi\beta_{i}=\alpha_{i} implies the problem statement, since the left-hand side in (2) is not greater than ss. Hence, it suffices to prove the Claim.

1. First, we prove the Claim assuming that all djd_{j}'s are prime numbers. If for some 1ik1 \leq i \leq k we have at least pip_{i} progressions with the step pip_{i}, then they do not intersect and hence cover all the integers; it means that there are no other progressions, and n=pin=p_{i}; the Claim is trivial in this case.
Now assume that for every 1ik1 \leq i \leq k, there are not more than pi1p_{i}-1 progressions with step pip_{i}; each such progression covers the numbers with a fixed residue modulo pip_{i}, therefore there exists a residue qimodpiq_{i} \bmod p_{i} which is not touched by these progressions. By the Chinese Remainder Theorem, there exists a number qq such that qqi(modpi)q \equiv q_{i}\left(\bmod p_{i}\right) for all 1ik1 \leq i \leq k; this number cannot be covered by any progression with step pip_{i}, hence it is not covered at all. A contradiction.

2. Now, we assume that the general Claim is not valid, and hence we consider a counterexample {P1,,Ps}\{P_{1}, \ldots, P_{s}\} for the Claim; we can choose it to be minimal in the following sense:
- the number nn is minimal possible among all the counterexamples;
- the sum idi\sum_{i} d_{i} is minimal possible among all the counterexamples having the chosen value of nn.
As was mentioned above, not all numbers did_{i} are primes; hence we can assume that d1d_{1} is composite, say p1d1p_{1} \mid d_{1} and d1=d1p1>1d_{1}'=\frac{d_{1}}{p_{1}}>1. Consider a progression P1P_{1}' having the step d1d_{1}', and containing P1P_{1}. We will focus on two coverings constructed as follows.
(i) Surely, the progressions P1,P2,,PsP_{1}', P_{2}, \ldots, P_{s} cover Z\mathbb{Z}, though this covering in not necessarily minimal. So, choose some minimal subcovering P\mathcal{P}' in it; surely P1PP_{1}' \in \mathcal{P}' since h1h_{1} is not covered by P2,,PsP_{2}, \ldots, P_{s}, so we may assume that P={P1,P2,,Ps}\mathcal{P}'=\{P_{1}', P_{2}, \ldots, P_{s'}\} for some sss' \leq s. Furthermore, the period of the covering P\mathcal{P}' can appear to be less than nn; so we denote this period by
n=p1α1σ1pkαkσk= l.c.m. (d1,d2,,ds) n'=p_{1}^{\alpha_{1}-\sigma_{1}} \ldots p_{k}^{\alpha_{k}-\sigma_{k}}=\text{ l.c.m. }\left(d_{1}', d_{2}, \ldots, d_{s'}\right)
Observe that for each PjPP_{j} \notin \mathcal{P}', we have hjP1h_{j} \in P_{1}', otherwise hjh_{j} would not be covered by P\mathcal{P}.
(ii) On the other hand, each nonempty set of the form Ri=PiP1(1is)R_{i}=P_{i} \cap P_{1}'(1 \leq i \leq s) is also a progression with a step ri=r_{i}= l.c.m. (di,d1)\left(d_{i}, d_{1}'\right), and such sets cover P1P_{1}'. Scaling these progressions with the ratio 1/d11 / d_{1}', we obtain the progressions QiQ_{i} with steps qi=ri/d1q_{i}=r_{i} / d_{1}' which cover Z\mathbb{Z}. Now we choose a minimal subcovering Q\mathcal{Q} of this covering; again we should have Q1QQ_{1} \in \mathcal{Q} by the reasons of h1h_{1}. Now, denote the period of Q\mathcal{Q} by
n= l.c.m. {qi:QiQ}= l.c.m. {ri:QiQ}d1=p1γ1pkγkd1 n''=\text{ l.c.m. }\{q_{i}: Q_{i} \in \mathcal{Q}\}=\frac{\text{ l.c.m. }\{r_{i}: Q_{i} \in \mathcal{Q}\}}{d_{1}'}=\frac{p_{1}^{\gamma_{1}} \ldots p_{k}^{\gamma_{k}}}{d_{1}'}
Note that if hjP1h_{j} \in P_{1}', then the image of hjh_{j} under the scaling can be covered by QjQ_{j} only; so, in this case we have QjQQ_{j} \in \mathcal{Q}.
Our aim is to find the desired number of progressions in coverings P\mathcal{P} and Q\mathcal{Q}. First, we have nnn \geq n', and the sum of the steps in P\mathcal{P}' is less than that in P\mathcal{P}; hence the Claim is valid for P\mathcal{P}'. We apply it to the set of indices I={iI:βi>σi}I'=\{i \in I: \beta_{i}>\sigma_{i}\} and the exponents βi=βiσi\beta_{i}'=\beta_{i}-\sigma_{i}; hence the set under consideration is
T={j:1js, and pi(αiσi)βi+1=piαiβi+1dj for some iI}T[s] T'=\{j: 1 \leq j \leq s', \text{ and } p_{i}^{(\alpha_{i}-\sigma_{i})-\beta_{i}'+1}=p_{i}^{\alpha_{i}-\beta_{i}+1} \mid d_{j} \text{ for some } i \in I'\} \subseteq T \cap[s']
and we obtain that
T[s]T1+iI(βiσi)(pi1)=1+iI(βiσi)+(pi1), |T \cap[s']| \geq|T'| \geq 1+\sum_{i \in I'}(\beta_{i}-\sigma_{i})(p_{i}-1)=1+\sum_{i \in I}(\beta_{i}-\sigma_{i})_{+}(p_{i}-1),
where (x)+=max{x,0}(x)_{+}=\max \{x, 0\}; the latter equality holds as for iIi \notin I' we have βiσi\beta_{i} \leq \sigma_{i}.
Observe that x=(xy)++min{x,y}x=(x-y)_{+}+\min \{x, y\} for all x,yx, y. So, if we find at least
G=iImin{βi,σi}(pi1) G=\sum_{i \in I} \min \{\beta_{i}, \sigma_{i}\}(p_{i}-1)
indices in T{s+1,,s}T \cap\{s'+1, \ldots, s\}, then we would have
T=T[s]+T{s+1,,s}1+iI((βiσi)++min{βi,σi})(pi1)=1+iIβi(pi1), |T|=|T \cap[s']|+|T \cap\{s'+1, \ldots, s\}| \geq 1+\sum_{i \in I}\left((\beta_{i}-\sigma_{i})_{+}+\min \{\beta_{i}, \sigma_{i}\}\right)(p_{i}-1)=1+\sum_{i \in I} \beta_{i}(p_{i}-1),
thus leading to a contradiction with the choice of P\mathcal{P}. We will find those indices among the indices of progressions in Q\mathcal{Q}.

3. Now denote I={iI:σi>0}I''=\{i \in I: \sigma_{i}>0\} and consider some iIi \in I''; then piαinp_{i}^{\alpha_{i}} \nmid n'. On the other hand, there exists an index j(i)j(i) such that piαidj(i)p_{i}^{\alpha_{i}} \mid d_{j(i)}; this means that dj(i)nd_{j(i)} \nmid n' and hence Pj(i)P_{j(i)} cannot appear in P\mathcal{P}', so j(i)>sj(i)>s'. Moreover, we have observed before that in this case hj(i)P1h_{j(i)} \in P_{1}', hence Qj(i)QQ_{j(i)} \in \mathcal{Q}. This means that qj(i)nq_{j(i)} \mid n'', therefore γi=αi\gamma_{i}=\alpha_{i} for each iIi \in I'' (recall here that qi=ri/d1q_{i}=r_{i} / d_{1}' and hence dj(i)rj(i)d1nd_{j(i)}|r_{j(i)}| d_{1}' n'').
Let d1=p1τ1pkτkd_{1}'=p_{1}^{\tau_{1}} \ldots p_{k}^{\tau_{k}}. Then n=p1γ1τ1pkγiτin''=p_{1}^{\gamma_{1}-\tau_{1}} \ldots p_{k}^{\gamma_{i}-\tau_{i}}. Now, if iIi \in I'', then for every β\beta the condition pi(γiτi)β+1qjp_{i}^{(\gamma_{i}-\tau_{i})-\beta+1} \mid q_{j} is equivalent to piαiβ+1rjp_{i}^{\alpha_{i}-\beta+1} \mid r_{j}.
Note that nn/d1<nn'' \leq n / d_{1}'<n, hence we can apply the Claim to the covering Q\mathcal{Q}. We perform this with the set of indices II'' and the exponents βi=min{βi,σi}>0\beta_{i}''=\min \{\beta_{i}, \sigma_{i}\}>0. So, the set under consideration is
T={j:QjQ, and pi(γiτi)min{βi,σi}+1qj for some iI}={j:QjQ, and piαimin{βi,σi}+1rj for some iI} \begin{aligned} T'' & =\{j: Q_{j} \in \mathcal{Q}, \text{ and } p_{i}^{(\gamma_{i}-\tau_{i})-\min \{\beta_{i}, \sigma_{i}\}+1} \mid q_{j} \text{ for some } i \in I''\} \\ & =\{j: Q_{j} \in \mathcal{Q}, \text{ and } p_{i}^{\alpha_{i}-\min \{\beta_{i}, \sigma_{i}\}+1} \mid r_{j} \text{ for some } i \in I''\} \end{aligned}
and we obtain T1+G|T''| \geq 1+G. Finally, we claim that TT({1}{s+1,,s})T'' \subseteq T \cap(\{1\} \cup\{s'+1, \ldots, s\}); then we will obtain T{s+1,,s}G|T \cap\{s'+1, \ldots, s\}| \geq G, which is exactly what we need.
To prove this, consider any jTj \in T''. Observe first that αimin{βi,σi}+1>αiσiτi\alpha_{i}-\min \{\beta_{i}, \sigma_{i}\}+1>\alpha_{i}-\sigma_{i} \geq \tau_{i}, hence from piαimin{βi,σi}+1rj=p_{i}^{\alpha_{i}-\min \{\beta_{i}, \sigma_{i}\}+1} \mid r_{j}= l.c.m. (d1,dj)\left(d_{1}', d_{j}\right) we have piαimin{βi,σi}+1djp_{i}^{\alpha_{i}-\min \{\beta_{i}, \sigma_{i}\}+1} \mid d_{j}, which means that jTj \in T. Next, the exponent of pip_{i} in djd_{j} is greater than that in nn', which means that PjP_{j} \notin P\mathcal{P}'. This may appear only if j=1j=1 or j>sj>s', as desired. This completes the proof.

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