Bart Wolbers
Bart Wolbers
- 17 min read

850nm Wavelength Health Effects: The Ultimate Guide

A cheatsheet for all the human, animal and in vitro studies on the health effects of 850nm near infrared light.

850nm Wavelength Health Effects: The Ultimate Guide
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Introduction

Welcome to another guide or "cheatsheet" on the health effects of a specific wavelength of red light therapy.

Recently I published a blog on the 810nm wavelength health effects. And today it's time to break down all the health effects 850nm has.

I've included all studies from 845-855nm light during this process. So anything around the 850nm wavelength has been included!

In total, 216 studies were included here. You can access any study by clicking the number associated with it. Doing so will lead you to an internet source that shows you the abstract of the scientific medical study.

How This Guide Was Developed

I categorized all the 216 studies according to

1) human;

2) animal;

3) in vitro (meaning "in the glass" - foundational lab studies).

Of course, I've given preference to human studies as they are valued the highest by far in medical science.

For people who value animal studies as well - these have been included too. I know that some people value animal studies more than others.

And, for completeness' sake, I've also included in vitro studies. Also, whenever human studies were available on any given topic I've given preference to them. So, if on osteoporosis of the bone three animal and one human study was available, I gave preference to that single human study and categorized it according to the strength of the evidence based upon the human research.

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I do warn against taking my categorization at face value. The topic is extremely complex and for a good assessment, you'll have to read the abstract and preferably the full text of the study as well. I've only categorized the studies the way Vladimir Heiskanen divided them into positive, neutral, and negative in his outstanding Excel sheet that contains 7,000+ studies on LLLT and red light therapy.

Please do keep in mind that there's far less research available on 850nm than there is on 830nm and especially 808/810nm light. There are a little under 600 studies available on 830nm light and around 900 available on 808/810nm light.

On 850nm light, however, only just over 200 studies exist currently. So there's far less evidence for an effect that 850nm has positive health benefits than there is for 808/810nm and 830nm light.

At the end of this blog post, I've added an advanced comments section wherein I discuss the scientific and philosophical assumptions of my work in more detail.

Summary Of 850nm Health Effects

845-855nm Human Evidence Outcomes

Strong Evidence For Health Benefits: 3+ Human Studies With 65%+ Positive Outcomes

  • Brain injury, such as a traumatic brain injury
  • Age-related macular degeneration of the eyes
  • COVID-19 infection
  • Diabetic neuropathy, a common side-effect of the peripheral nervous system in diabetes.
  • Orthodontics, specifically tooth movement after braces and other interventions
  • Pain, specifically shoulder pain and heel pain

Some Evidence: 1-2 Human Studies Either 100% Positive Or 50-50% Positive/Neutral

  • This some evidence for human health benefits category contains 35 different benefits that have to be confirmed with more research but are very promising already. Once more positive human studies are available, the studies found in this category would move to the strong human evidence category. If new negative or neutral studies are found, they would move to the neutral/insufficient/conflicting evidence category.

Insufficient Or Neutral Or Conflicting Evidence - Therefore, Not To Be Included In The Other Categories Of Human Evidence

  • In this category, you'll find 18 different outcomes where the evidence is unclear whether there's an effect. For instance, there may be several positive and negative studies on the same topic that contradict each other.

Strong Evidence For Health Harm: 3+ Human Studies With 65%+ Negative Outcomes

  • In this category, we find three outcomes with 3+ studies whereby 65% show negative health harm or a neutral outcome in some cases. If you want to know why the studies are negative then you'll have to read the studies. I'm very explicit about people reading these studies and not me commenting on it because I'll get far too many questions and have to spend far too much time on giving feedback to people if you're not reading the studies yourself. So, as always, if you want to know why an outcome is negative or neural or positive, use your own brain. I'm not saying this to be an asshole, I'm just preventing having to reply to hundreds of emails and questions on this topic that I don't have the resources for. I wish I could...

845-855nm Animal Study Evidence Outcomes

Strong Animal Study Evidence: 3+ Animal Studies Available And 65%+ Positive:

  • Bone health benefits, for bone repair and bone fractures only.

Insufficient Or Neutral Or Conflicting Animal-Based Evidence:

  • Here 27 different effects can be found that are currently unproven or neutral or have conflicting evidence. The reason there's not more strong positive evidence in the animal research is because there are not much 850nm light studies available. If another 400 studies were available on 850nm light, I'm pretty sure we'd have a ton more outcomes located in the strong animal-based evidence category.

Animal-Based Evidence For Health Harm: 3+ Studies With 65% Or More Negative Outcomes

  • No studies found in this category, which can be good or bad. Read why in the advanced comments section at the end of this blog post.

In Vitro Studies

Strong In Vitro Evidence With 3+ Studies And 65%+ Positive:

  • Endodontics (dental pulp - the inner center of the tooth where blood vessels are located)

Insufficient Exclusive In Vitro Evidence (Not Included In Categories Above Or Below)

  • 16 different outcomes are found here, all that need more research or that have conflicting outcomes.

Strong Exclusive In Vitro Evidence With 3+ Studies And 65%+ Negative, Implying Health Harm:

  • No studies found in this category, fortunately.

845-855nm Human Evidence Outcomes (Almost Exclusively The 850nm Wavelength)

Below you'll find all studies using human participants. These human studies have the highest value in medical research by far, because from these studies it's possible to generalize towards humans.

Animal research, which is treated later in this blog post, has the downside that its results won't always translate to the same human outcomes. So you can have many positive animal studies but when a similar treatment is used in humans, no effect may be found.

So, here we go with the human studies:

Strong Evidence For Health Benefits: 3+ Human Studies With 65%+ Positive Outcomes

Brain, Brain Injury - (14, 810 vs 850 vs 870, positive, human), (15, 629+850, positive, human), (16, 850, positive, human).

Eyes, Age-related Macular Degeneration - (43, 590+660+850, positive, human), (44, 590+660+850, positive, human RCT), (45, 590+660+850, positive, human RCT).

Infections, COVID-19 - (58, 633+850+905, positive, human), (59, 650+850, positive, human), (60, 633+850+905, neutral, human RCT).

Nervous System, Diabetic Neuropathy - (129, 633+660+850, positive, human), (130, 633+660+850, positive, human), (131, 633+660+850, positive, human), (132, 850, positive, human RCT), (133, 780 vs 850, positive, animal),

Oral, Orthodontics: Tooth Movement - (154, 850, positive, human), (155, 850, positive, human), (156, 850, positive, human), (157, 850, positive, human), (158, 850, negative, human RCT), (159, 850, negative, animal), (160, 850, negative, animal), (161, 850, neutral, human RCT), (162, 850, positive, human RCT), (163, 850, positive, human RCT), (164, 850, positive, human RCT), (165, 630+850, negative, animal).

Pain, Heel Pain - (182, 850, positive, human RCT), (183, 830 v 850, positive, human RCT), (184, 850, neutral, human RCT).

Pain, Shoulder - (186, 640+850, positive, human), (187, 850, positive, human RCT), (188, 850, negative, human RCT).

Some Evidence: 1-2 Human Studies Either 100% Positive Or 50-50% Positive/Neutral

Adipose Tissue, Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue - (1, 630+850, positive, human).

Brain, Cognitive Impairment - (17, 850, positive, human RCT).

Brain, Depression - (18, 660+850, positive, human).

Brain, EEG - (19, 850, positive, human RCT), (20, 850, positive, human RCT).

Brain, Parkinson's Disease - (22, 660 vs 670 vs 810 vs 850, positive, human).

Brain, Stroke (Clinical) - (23, 630+660+850, positive, human), (24, 660+850, positive, human).

Circulation, Hemoglobin - (28, 850, neutral, human).

Circulation, Microcirculation - (29, 660+850, positive, human), (30, 625+660+850, positive, human).

Dermatology, Erythema And Other Symptoms From Other Treatments - (34, 470+528+625+850+905, positive, human).

Dermatology, Skin Rejuvenation - (39, 660+850, positive, human), (40, 410 vs 480 vs 525 vs 580 vs 595 vs 630 vs 850, positive, animal+in vitro), (41,405-420+850-900, positive, human).

Infections, COVID-19: Post-COVID Symptoms - (57, 1070 vs 660+850, positive, human).

Joints, Osteoarthritis - (61, 850, positive, human RCT)

Joints, Osteoarthritis (Knee) - (62, 850, positive, animal), (63, 850, positive, animal), (64, 850 vs 890, positive, human), (65, 850, positive, animal)

Kidney, Chronic Kidney Disease (Muscle) - (66, 850, positive, human RCT).

Mechanisms, Original Research - (67, 800 vs 810 vs 850 vs 1064, positive, human RCT), (68, 450 vs 500 vs 530 vs 590 vs 655 vs 850, neutral, in vitro).

Muscle, Exercise: Crossfit - (72, 633+850+905, positive, human RCT).

Muscle, Exercise: Swimming - (88, 660+850, positive, human).

Nervous System, Autonomic Nervous System - (125, 850, positive, human).

Nervous System, CNS: Bell's Palsy - (126, 850, positive, human).

Oral, Caries - (138, 480-3400 vs 625+660+850, positive, human RCT).

Oral, Graft-Versus-Host Disease - (143, 660+850, positive, human), (144, 660+850, positive, human).

Oral, Oral Mucosal Necrosis - (145, 660+850, positive, human).

Oral, Oral Mucositis - (146, 660+850, neutral, human RCT), (147, 660+850, positive, human).

Oral, Orthodontics: Pain - (148, 780 vs 850, positive, human RCT).

Oral, TMD - (167, 660+850, positive, human RCT), (168, 760+850, positive, animal), (169, 630 vs 760 vs 850, positive, human RCT),

Oral, Trauma & Fractures - (172, 660+850, positive, human RCT).

Pain, Chronic - (178, 660+850, positive, human),

Pain, Fibromyalgia - (179, 660+850, positive, human), (180, 660+850, neutral, human RCT).

Pain, Foot - (181, 850, positive, human).

Pain, Knee Pain - (185, 660+850, positive, human RCT).

Sleep Medicine, Bruxism - (197, 850, neutral, human RCT).

Sleep Medicine, Sleep Quality - (198, 850, positive, human RCT), (199, 660+850, neutral, human),

Thyroid, Hypothyroidism - (204, 850, positive, human RCT).

Thyroid, Skin - (206, 630+850, positive, human).

Wound Healing, Digital Ulcers (Systemic Sclerosis) - (216, 405+660+850, positive, human)

Insufficient Or Neutral Or Conflicting Evidence - Therefore, Not To Be Included In The Other Categories Of Human Evidence

Dermatology, Laser Skin Resurfacing Wounds / Erythema - (35, 590+630+850, negative, human RCT).

Eyes, Reticular Pseudodrusen (RPD) - (46, 590+660+850, neutral, human).

Heart, Baroreflex Sensitivity - (49, 850, negative, human RCT).

Heart, CABG Surgery (Exercise Capacity) - (50, 850, negative, human RCT),

Heart, Heart Failure - (51, 850, negative, animal), (52, 850, negative, human RCT), (53, 850, positive, animal), (54, 850, neutral, animal).

Muscle, Exercise: High-intensity - (73, 660+850, negative, human RCT).

Muscle, Exercise: Jump - (74, 670+850+880+950, negative, human RCT.

Muscle, Exercise: Mixed - (75, 650+850, neutral, human RCT).

Muscle, Exercise: Resistance Exercise - (76, 670+850+880+950, neutral, human RCT), (77, 670+850+950, neutral, human RCT), (78, 630+850, negative, human RCT), (79, 660+850, negative, human RCT), (80, 633+850+905, positive, human RCT), (81, 850, negative, human RCT), (82, 630+850, negative, human RCT), (83, 850, neutral, human RCT), (84, 670+850+880+950, negative, human RCT).

Muscle, Exercise: Water polo - (89, 660+850, negative, human).

Muscle, Exercise - (90, 850, positive, human RCT), (95, 850, negative, human RCT), (96, 660+850, negative, human RCT), (97, 850, negative, human RCT), (98,670+850+880+950, positive, human RCT), (99, 660+850, positive, human RCT), (100, 660+850, positive, human RCT), (101, 660+850, neutral, human RCT), (102, 660+850, neutral, human RTC), (103, 850, positive, human RCT), (104, 630+850, positive, human), (105, 850, positive, human RTC), (106, 850, positive, human RCT), (107, 850, positive, human RCT), (108, 850, positive, human RCT), (109, 850, positive, human RCT), (110, 850, positive, human RCT), (111, 660+850, neutral, human RCT), (112, 660+850, neutral, human RCT), (113, 660+850, positive, human RCT), (114, 810 vs 660+850, negative, human RCT).

Muscle, Exercise-Related Health Improvements - (117, 850, neutral, human RCT), (118, 850, neutral, human RCT), (119, 850, positive, human).

Muscle, Sports Injuries - (124, 670+850+880+950, neutral, human RCT).

Oral, Tooth Extraction - (170, 850, neutral, animal), (171, 660+850, neutral, human).

Pain, Back Pain - (173, 660+850, neutral, human), (174, 850+1064, positive, human), (175, 850 vs 650+785+980, positive, human RCT), (176, 850, negative, human RCT).

Pain, Capsaicin-Induced Pain - (177, 850, negative, human).

Reproductive System, Childbirth - (194, 660+850, neutral, human RCT).

Surgery, Knee Arthroplasty - (201, 850, neutral, human).

Wound Healing, Diabetic Foot Ulcer - (210, 830 vs 850, positive, human), (211, 632 vs 660 vs 850, positive, human), (212, 625+660+850, neutral, human RCT), (213, 630+850, neutral, human RCT),

Strong Evidence For Health Harm: 3+ Human Studies With 65%+ Negative Outcomes

Muscle, Exercise: Cycling - (71, 630+850, negative, human RCT), (73, 630+850, negative, human RCT), (74, 850, neutral, human RCT).

Muscle, Exercise: Running - (85, 660+850, negative, human RCT), (86, 670+850+880+950, negative, human RCT), (87, 660+850, negative, human RCT), (91, 660+850, negative, human RCT), (92, 670+850+880+950, positive, human RCT), (93, 670+850+880+950, positive, human RCT), (94, 660+850, negative, human RCT).

Oral, Orthodontics: Root Resorption - (151, 850, negative, human RCT), (152, 810 vs 850, negative, human RCT), (153, 850, neutral, human RCT).

845-855nm Animal Study Evidence Outcomes (Mostly The 850nm Wavelength)

Strong Animal Study Evidence: 3+ Animal Studies Available And 65%+ Positive:

Bone, Bone Repair - (2, 780 vs 850, positive, animal), (3, 780 vs 850, neutral, animal), (3, 850, positive, animal), (4, 850, positive, animal), (5, 780 vs 850, positive, animal), (6, 780 vs 850, positive, animal), (7, 850, positive, animal), (8, 850, positive, animal).

Bone, Bone Fractures - (9, 780 vs 850, positive, animal), (10, 780 vs 850, positive, animal), (11, 850, positive, animal).

Insufficient Or Neutral Or Conflicting Animal-Based Evidence:

Brain, Alzheimer's Disease - (12, 630 vs 730 vs 850, positive, animal), (13, 625+850, positive, animal).

Brain, Epilepsy - (21, 825+850, positive, animal).

Brain, Stroke (Preclinical) - (25, 630+850+940, positive, animal).

Circulation, Aging (Cardiovascular) - (27, 850, positive, animal).

Dermatology, Atopic Dermatitis - (31, 850, positive, animal), (32, 850, positive, animal).

Dermatology, Radiation Dermatitis - (37, 630 vs 850 vs 630+850, positive, animal).

Dermatology, Rosacea - (38, 410 vs 480 vs 525 vs 580 vs 595 vs 630 vs 850 vs 940, positive, animal+in vitro).

Diabetes, Glycemia - (42, 630 vs 850 vs 630+850, neutral, animal),

Gastroenterology, Colitis - (47, 440 vs 660 vs 850, positive, animal).

Hearing, Stem Cells - (48, 808+850, positive, animal+in vitro),

Immunity, Mast Cells - (55, 630+850, neutral, animal).

Muscle, Exercise (Preclinical) - (115, 630+850, positive, animal), (116, 630+850, positive, animal).

Muscle, Glycogen - (120, 630+850, positive, animal).

Muscle, Muscle Injury - (121, 850, positive, animal).

Muscle, Sarcopenia / Muscle Function In Aging - (123, 850, positive, animal).

Nervous System, Cranial Nerves: Facial Nerve - (127, 850, positive, animal), (128, 850, neutral, animal).

Nervous System, Spinal Cord - (134, 850, positive, animal).

Oncology, Tumor Growth - (136, 660 vs 660+850, positive, animal), (137, 633 vs 650+850, neutral, animal).

Oral, Orthodontics: RME / Maxillary Expansion - (149, 780 vs 850, positive, animal), (150, 780 vs 850, positive, animal).

Oral, Salivary Glands - (166, 850, positive, animal+in vitro).

Radiation, X-Rays - (193, 850, neutral, animal).

Safety of PBM/LLLT, DNA - (196, 633 vs 633 vs 850, positive, animal).

Surgery, Skin Flap - (202, 850, positive, animal).

Thyroid, Radiation-Induced Thyroid Dysfunction - (205, 850, positive, animal+in vitro).

Veterinary Medicine, Dog Wounds - (207, 670+850, positive, animal).

Wound Healing, Burns (Preclinical) - (209, 632 vs 660 vs 850 vs 904, positive, animal).

Wound Healing, Diabetic (Preclinical) - (214, 425 vs 510 vs 630 vs 730 vs 850 or combined, positive, animal+in vitro), (215, 850 vs 904, positive, animal),

Animal-Based Evidence For Health Harm: 3+ Studies With 65% Or More Negative Outcomes

- Empty category, I comment more on this topic in the advanced comments section.

In Vitro Studies

In vitro studies are laboratory studies. You can probably remember doing some experiments in chemistry or biology class that weren't carried out on living animals - that's what's happening here.

Of course, these studies' outcomes can still be valuable for understanding biology better. But, after you've got outcomes in in vitro studies that are significant, it's always important to confirm them in animal and human studies as well.

Strong In Vitro Evidence With 3+ Studies And 65%+ Positive:

Oral, Endodontics (In Vitro) - (139, 850, positive, in vitro), (140, 850, positive, in vitro), (141, 850, positive, in vitro), (142, positive, in vitro).

Insufficient Exclusive In Vitro Evidence (Not Included In Categories Above Or Below)

Cells, Energy Metabolism - (26, 450 vs 490 vs 550 vs 590 vs 650 vs 850, positive, in vitro),

Dermatology, Cell Protection - (33, 630 vs 660 vs 830 vs 850, positive, in vitro).

Dermatology, Melanin - (36, 830+850, positive, in vitro),

Immunity, T cells - (56, 415 vs 530 vs 630 vs 660 vs 830 vs 850 vs 940, positive, in vitro).

Microorganisms, Bacteria - (69, 470 vs 525 vs 590 vs 630 vs 850, positive, in vitro).

Muscle, Energy Metabolism - (70, 630+850, positive, in vitro).

Muscle, Myopathy - (122, 420+470+660+850, positive, in vitro).

Oncology, Tumor Cells - (135, 585 vs 626 vs 810 vs 850 vs 950, positive, in vitro).

PDT Papers With PBM Aspects, Cancer - (189, 660+850, positive, in vitro)

Penetration - (190, 850, positive, in vitro)

Penetration, Oral - (191, 850, positive, in vitro),

Penetration, Teeth - (192, 450 vs 630 vs 850, positive, in vitro).

Reproductive System, Sperm - (195, 850 vs 625+660+850 vs 470 vs 470+625+660, positive, in vitro).

Stem Cells & Regeneration, Bone Marrow Stem Cells - (200, 630 vs 850, positive, in vitro).

Tendons, Cells - (203, 625+850, negative, in vitro).

Wavelengths, Blue & Green - (208, 447 vs 505 vs 530 vs 655 vs 850, neutral, in vitro).

Strong Exclusive In Vitro Evidence With 3+ Studies And 65%+ Negative, Implying Health Harm:

- Nothing to be found in this category

Advanced Comments On The Outcome Of These 850nm Wavelength Studies

In this section, I'll talk about the scientific and philosophical assumptions and background of my work, as well as some imperfections. Not everybody should read this section but be my guest if you're interested in this topic. Here we go:

  • Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) in human research and regular studies weren't separated. I'm very well aware that there's a difference between case studies and cross sectional studies and cohort studies on the one hand, and RCTs on the other hand. In a perfect world, I'd spend even more time on subdividing all the human research. Still, Alex Fergus' resources aren't endless and this project is probably already taking too many hours so I had to make strategic decisions. I did note whether a study is a human RCT or another type of human research study (then named "human"). So you can click the studies yourself and read the research on all of the outcomes yourself and draw your own conclusions.
  • I know the topic is highly complex and wish I could simplify the research even further. If you have low-hanging fruit suggestions that are not time-consuming then I'm all ears. We're trying to present the best available evidence as easy to possible to all red light therapy users and consumers.
  • The 65% positive and 65% negative cutoff points aren't set in stone. I do think they're reasonable though.
  • You'll still have to think for yourself when using this resource. As stated before, I haven't gone through all the studies in detail as I relied on Vladimir Heiskanen's excellent work. So, instead of assuming my judgment is correct, it's better to read the studies yourself for a more nuanced and correct perspective and only then drawing conclusions.
  • There may be publication bias in the animal and in vitro research. I didn't find any negative studies in either category, which is suspect. The same thing happened in my 808/810nm blog, which is weird. It may also be that Heiskanen categorizes studies as "neutral" if there's no effect or a slightly negative effect. Or, the results with LLLT/red light therapy may simply be extremely positive and never really cause any harm, which would be amazing.
  • Some overlap does seem to exist between the 808/810nm wavelengths, the 830nm wavelengths, and this 850nm wavelength. But there are differences too. I'll have to compare them in more detail to observe whether they really all have the same effects. Some companies like Joovv claim that 810nm, 830nm, and 850nm light all have exactly the same biological effects. I'm not sure whether you can conclude that though.
  • I'd love to get your feedback to improve this resource. So comment below if you have any questions or comments.
  • Also, I've emailed Vladimir Heiskanen about this approach. And, he had many of the same criticisms I already leveled, such as that ideally, you'd want to take a systematic review approach using the Cochrane method. But, my counterargument there is that unless someone will fund to do that on many of these topics, we'd need an alternative that offers the most benefit. And I think my approach here is doing better than nothing, or than other offerings currently available.

Then, next up, there's my viewpoint on the best 850nm panels:

Best 850nm Wavelength Panels

So let's look at the best 850nm wavelength red light therapy panels. In the list below, I've included all panels that have a high percentage of 850nm light as well as the price per Watt for each of these panels. The percentage of 850nm and the price per Watt of measured energy are probably the most important metrics here.

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Note: Use our Shopping Tool to easily find the best panel with 850nm light.

Of course, you're going to have a ton of other considerations when buying a panel that emits 850nm light, such as the shipping costs, control panel, other wavelengths, and so forth, but the categorization I made is probably a good start. If you want further information for any of these panels, simply check the review Alex has made for all of them:

My first recommendations here, if you want 50% of light emitted at 850nm, are the Rouge 3G Pro panel and the Hooga HG1500 Pro.

For 40%, the PlatinumLED BioMax is great. For 25% 850nm light, the Rojo 3000 or the MitoPRO 1500 are great. Discount code ALEX saves you on most of these! For Mito Red, use discount code ALEX5

I can't give black-and-white recommendations here, as what panel is best for you depends on so many circumstances. But, the list given above gives a good overview of the best 850nm panels as they are available on the market.

Lastly, let's conclude.

Conclusion: Bring On The 850nm Health Benefits Research

I hope my blog about the health effects of 850nm light has gotten you more curious. And, fortunately, research on this topic is growing exponentially so I expect the topic to get expanded big time over the coming years.

Right now, there's decent evidence for using 850nm light for brain injuries, age-related macular degeneration, COVID-19, diabetic neuropathy, orthodontics and different types of pain. I'd love to see more confirmation though, on the topics that haven't been studied too extensively so far or on the issues where we mostly have animal studies.

And, I hope, if you think 850nm light is helpful for your health, I've given you a great list of options for 850nm red light therapy panels!

This is a post by Bart Wolbers of Lighttherapyinsiders. Bart finished degrees in Physical Therapy (B), Philosophy (BA and MA), Philosophy of Science and Technology (MS - with distinction), and Clinical Health Science (MS), has had training in functional medicine, and is currently chief science writer.

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