Assistant Professor, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Christopher Wheldon is a behavioral scientist working to reduce cancer disparities and improve cancer care for underserved and vulnerable populations. Central to this focus is his consideration of how individual, interpersonal and organizational factors influence cancer-related risk (e.g., tobacco use), preventive health behaviors (e.g., HPV vaccination, cancer screening) and healthcare delivery (e.g., cancer survivorship care). He is particularly interested in developing culturally responsive interventions for sexual and gender minority populations.
Dr. Wheldon is an assistant professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the College of Public Health. He directs the Cancer Health Equity, Education and Research (CHEER) Lab. Prior to joining the faculty at Temple University, Dr. Wheldon was a Cancer Prevention Fellow at the National Cancer Institute. He completed a PhD in community and family health from the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida.
Watson, R.J., Caba, A.E., Lawrence, S.E., Renley, B.M., McCauley, P.S., Wheldon, C.W., Eaton, L.A., Russell, S.T., & Eisenberg, M.E. (2024). Examining Mental Health and Bullying Concerns at the Intersection of Sexuality, Gender, Race, and Ethnicity Among a National Sample of Sexual and Gender Diverse Youth. LGBT Health, 11(1), pp. 20-27. United States. doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2023.0072
Wheldon, C.W. (2023). Psychometric Validation of the Patient Anal Cancer Knowledge Scale (PACKS) in a Cohort of Black and Hispanic/Latino Sexual and Gender Diverse Young Adults. J Cancer Educ, 38(6), pp. 1925-1931. England. doi: 10.1007/s13187-023-02362-0
Sinko, L., Ghazal, L.V., Fauer, A., & Wheldon, C.W. (2023). It takes more than rainbows: Supporting sexual and gender minority patients with trauma-informed cancer care. Cancer. United States. doi: 10.1002/cncr.35120
Rosser, B.R.S., Weideman, B.C.D., Rider, G.N., Jatoi, A., Ecklund, A.M., Wheldon, C.W., Talley, K.M.C., Kulasingam, S., Smith, M.K., Jacobs, D.R., Mitteldorf, D., West, W., Alley, R., & Ross, M.W. (2023). Sexual and Gender Minority Invisibility in Cancer Studies: A Call for Effective Recruitment Methods to Address Cancer Disparities. J Clin Oncol, 41(33), pp. 5093-5098. United States. doi: 10.1200/JCO.23.00655
Wheldon, C.W., Sykes, K.J., Ramaswamy, M., Bass, S.B., & Collins, B.N. (2023). Integrating HPV Vaccination Within PrEP care Delivery for Underserved Populations: A Mixed Methods Feasibility Study. J Community Health, 48(4), pp. 640-651. Netherlands. doi: 10.1007/s10900-023-01202-y
Franco-Rocha, O.Y., Wheldon, C.W., Osier, N., Lett, E., Kesler, S.R., Henneghan, A.M., & Suárez-Baquero, D.F.M. (2023). Cisheteronormativity and its influence on the psychosocial experience of LGBTQ+ people with cancer: A qualitative systematic review. Psychooncology, 32(6), pp. 834-845. England. doi: 10.1002/pon.6133
Baishya, M.L., Martinasek, M., Bell, L., & Wheldon, C.W. (2023). Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adult Tobacco Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Populations: Examining the Role of Mental, Social, and Community Health. LGBT Health, 10(3), pp. 211-219. United States. doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2021.0343
Wheldon, C.W., Bates, A.J., Polter, E.J., Rosser, B.R.S., Kapoor, A., Talley, K.M.C., Haggart, R., Kohli, N., Konety, B.R., Mitteldorf, D., Ross, M.W., West, W., & Wright, M. (2023). Unrecognized sexual dysfunction in gay and bisexual men after prostate cancer treatment: the antecedents and impact of anodyspareunia. J Sex Med, 20(4), pp. 515-524. Netherlands. doi: 10.1093/jsxmed/qdad009
Wheldon, C.W., Eaton, L.A., & Watson, R.J. (2023). Predisposing, Enabling, and Need-Related Factors Associated with Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Intentions and Uptake Among Black and Hispanic Sexual and Gender Diverse Adults in the USA. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities, 10(1), pp. 237-243. Switzerland. doi: 10.1007/s40615-021-01214-1
Ross, M.W., Rosser, B.R.S., Polter, E.J., Bates, A.J., Wheldon, C.W., Haggart, R., West, W., Kohli, N., Konety, B.R., Mitteldorf, D., Talley, G.K.M.C., & Wright, M. (2023). Discrimination of Sexual and Gender Minority Patients in Prostate Cancer Treatment: Results from the Restore-1 Study. Stigma Health, 8(1), pp. 85-92. United States. doi: 10.1037/sah0000356
Wheldon, C.W., Skurka, C., & Eng, N. (2023). Inoculating Black/African American and LGBTQ Communities Against the Tobacco Industry: The Role of Community Connectedness and Tobacco Denormalization Beliefs. Health Promot Pract, p. 15248399221146553. United States. doi: 10.1177/15248399221146553
Wheldon, C.W., Watson, R.J., Cunningham, C., & Fish, J.N. (2023). State Marijuana Laws and Marijuana Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in the United States. LGBT Health, 10(2), pp. 121-129. United States. doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2021.0419
Baker, E., Gilbert, P.A., Wheldon, C.W., & Vanderheyden, B.B. (2023). Predictors of Empirically Derived Substance Use Patterns Among Sexual and Gender Minority Populations of a Rural Midwestern State. LGBT Health, 10(1), pp. 62-71. United States. doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2022.0025
Wheldon, C.W. & Spradau, J.Z.H. (2023). Indoor Tanning among Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents and Adults: Results from the 2020 Pennsylvania LGBT Health Needs Assessment. J Skin Cancer, 2023, p. 3953951. United States. doi: 10.1155/2023/3953951
Tatum, A., Rosser, B.R.S., Wheldon, C.W., Torres, M.B., Bates, A.J., Haggart, R., Konety, B.R., Mitteldorf, D., Polter, E.J., Ross, M.W., Talley, K.M.C., West, W., Wright, M.M., & Zhang, Z. (2023). The Effects of Prostate Cancer Treatment on Role-In-Sex in Gay and Bisexual Men: Mixed Methods Results from the Restore-1 and Restore-2 Studies. J Sex Res, 60(5), pp. 752-761. United States. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2022.2128027
Wheldon, C.W. (2022). HPV vaccination and HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP): Missed opportunities for anal cancer prevention among at risk populations. Hum Vaccin Immunother, 18(6), p. 2114258. United States. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2022.2114258
Wheldon, C.W., Polter, E.J., Rosser, B.R.S., Kapoor, A., Talley, K.M.C., Haggart, R., Kohli, N., Konety, B.R., Mitteldorf, D., Ross, M.W., West, W., & Wright, M. (2022). Pain and Loss of Pleasure in Receptive Anal Sex for Gay and Bisexual Men following Prostate Cancer Treatment: Results from the Restore-1 Study. J Sex Res, 59(7), pp. 826-833. United States. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2021.1939846
Wells-Prado, D.R., Ross, M.W., Rosser, B.R.S., Polter, E.J., Capistrant, B.D., Haggart, R., Kohli, N., Konety, B.R., Mitteldorf, D., Talley, K.M.C., West, W., & Wheldon, C.W. (2022). Prostate cancer disclosure and sexual orientation: Understanding outness to healthcare providers as a situational or consistent phenomenon. Patient Educ Couns, 105(7), pp. 2033-2037. Ireland. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2021.11.017
Rosser, B.R.S., Wright, M., Hoefer, C.J., Polter, E.J., Kohli, N., Wheldon, C.W., Haggart, R., Talley, K.M.c., Mitteldorf, D., Kilian, G., Konety, B.R., Ross, M.W., & West, W. (2022). Recruiting an underserved, difficult to reach population into a cancer trial: Strategies from the Restore-2 Rehabilitation Trial for gay and bisexual prostate cancer patients. Clin Trials, 19(3), pp. 239-250. England. doi: 10.1177/17407745221077678
Garg, A., Wheldon, C.W., Galvin, A.M., Moore, J.D., Griner, S.B., & Thompson, E.L. (2022). The Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Mid-adult Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Knowledge Scale in the United States. Sex Transm Dis, 49(6), pp. 423-428. United States. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001615
Lessard, L.M., Watson, R.J., Schacter, H.L., Wheldon, C.W., & Puhl, R.M. (2022). Weight enumeration in United States anti-bullying laws: associations with rates and risks of weight-based bullying among sexual and gender minority adolescents. J Public Health Policy, 43(1), pp. 27-39. England. doi: 10.1057/s41271-021-00322-w
Polter, E.J., Kohli, N., Rosser, B.R.S., Talley, K.M.C., Wheldon, C.W., Hoefer, C.J., Wright, M., Haggart, R., Mitteldorf, D., Kilian, G., Konety, B.R., Ross, M.W., & West, W. (2022). Creation and Psychometric Validation of the Sexual Minorities and Prostate Cancer Scale (SMACS) in Sexual Minority Patients-The Restore-2 Study. J Sex Med, 19(3), pp. 529-540. Netherlands. doi: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2021.12.012
Rosser, B.R.S., Polter, E.J., Talley, K.M.C., Wheldon, C.W., Haggart, R., Wright, M., West, W., Mitteldorf, D., Ross, M.W., Konety, B.R., & Kohli, N. (2022). Health Disparities of Sexual Minority Patients Following Prostate Cancer Treatment: Results From the Restore-2 Study. Front Oncol, 12, p. 812117. Switzerland. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.812117
Rotert, P., Wheldon, C., Kownack, J., Sullivan-Blum, Z., Cokingtin, B., Khetani, K., Ndeti, K., Skyes, K., & Ramaswamy, M. (2022). Human Papillomavirus Prevalence and Vaccination Rates Among Users of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention. J Prim Care Community Health, 13, p. 21501319221110411. United States. doi: 10.1177/21501319221110411
Wheldon, C.W., Polter, E., Rosser, B.R.S., Bates, A.J., Haggart, R., Wright, M., Mitteldorf, D., Ross, M.W., Konety, B.R., Kohli, N., Talley, K.M.C., West, W., & Tatum, A.K. (2022). Prevalence and Risk Factors for Sexually Transmitted Infections in Gay and Bisexual Prostate Cancer Survivors: Results From the Restore-2 Study. Front Oncol, 12, p. 832508. Switzerland. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.832508
Bates, A.J., Rosser, B.R.S., Polter, E.J., Wheldon, C.W., Talley, K.M.C., Haggart, R., Wright, M., Mitteldorf, D., West, W., Ross, M.W., Konety, B.R., & Kohli, N. (2022). Racial/Ethnic Differences in Health-Related Quality of Life Among Gay and Bisexual Prostate Cancer Survivors. Front Oncol, 12, p. 833197. Switzerland. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.833197
Wheldon, C.W., Garg, A., Galvin, A.M., Moore, J.D., & Thompson, E.L. (2021). Decision support needs for shared clinical decision-making regarding HPV vaccination among adults 27-45 years of age. Patient Educ Couns, 104(12), pp. 3079-3085. Ireland. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2021.04.016
Islam, J.Y., Spees, L., Camacho-Rivera, M., Vidot, D.C., Yarosh, R., & Wheldon, C.W. (2021). Disparities in Awareness of Hepatitis C Virus Among US Adults: An Analysis of the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey. Sex Transm Dis, 48(12), pp. 981-985. United States. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001478
Thompson, E.L., Garg, A., Galvin, A.M., Moore, J.D., Kasting, M.L., & Wheldon, C.W. (2021). Correlates of HPV Vaccination Intentions Among Adults Ages 27-45 Years Old in the U.S. J Community Health, 46(5), pp. 893-902. Netherlands. doi: 10.1007/s10900-021-00968-3
Skurka, C., Wheldon, C.W., & Eng, N. (2021). Targeted Truth: An Experiment Testing the Efficacy of Counterindustry Tobacco Advertisements Targeted to Black Individuals and Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals. Nicotine Tob Res, 23(9), pp. 1542-1550. England. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntab032
Watson, R.J., Fish, J.N., Poteat, V.P., Wheldon, C.W., Cunningham, C.A., Puhl, R.M., & Eaton, L.A. (2021). Teacher Support, Victimization, and Alcohol Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth: Considering Ethnoracial Identity. Prev Sci, 22(5), pp. 590-601. United States. doi: 10.1007/s11121-021-01216-9
Rosser, B.R.S., Rider, G.N., Kapoor, A., Talley, K.M.C., Haggart, R., Kohli, N., Konety, B.R., Mitteldorf, D., Polter, E.J., Ross, M.W., West, W., Wheldon, C., & Wright, M. (2021). Every urologist and oncologist should know about treating sexual and gender minority prostate cancer patients: translating research findings into clinical practice. Transl Androl Urol, 10(7), pp. 3208-3225. China. doi: 10.21037/tau-20-1052
Nadarzynski, T., Frost, M., Miller, D., Wheldon, C.W., Wiernik, B.M., Zou, H., Richardson, D., Marlow, L.A.V., Smith, H., Jones, C.J., & Llewellyn, C. (2021). Vaccine acceptability, uptake and completion amongst men who have sex with men: A systematic review, meta-analysis and theoretical framework. Vaccine, 39(27), pp. 3565-3581. Netherlands. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.05.013
Martinasek, M.P., Wheldon, C.W., Parsons, C.A., Bell, L.A., & Lipski, B.K. (2021). Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences as Predictors of Cigarette and E-Cigarette Use. Am J Prev Med, 60(6), pp. 737-746. Netherlands. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2021.01.004
Wheldon, C.W. & Wiseman, K.P. (2021). Psychological, Normative, and Environmental Barriers to Tobacco Cessation that Disproportionally Affect Sexual Minority Tobacco Users. Nicotine Tob Res, 23(6), pp. 1030-1037. England. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa268
Wheldon, C.W. & Maness, S.B. (2021). An Assessment of Cancer Education Needs to Promote Mid-Adult HPV Vaccination Among Male Sexual Minorities. J Cancer Educ, 36(2), pp. 401-405. England. doi: 10.1007/s13187-019-01644-w
Wheldon, C.W., Maness, S.B., Islam, J.Y., Deshmukh, A.A., & Nyitray, A.G. (2021). Gay and Bisexual Men in the US Lack Basic Information About Anal Cancer. J Low Genit Tract Dis, 25(1), pp. 48-52. United States. doi: 10.1097/LGT.0000000000000571
Rosser, B.R.S., Polter, E.J., Chandiramani, N., Cahill, S., Wheldon, C.W., Konety, B.R., Ryan, C.J., Haggart, R., & Kapoor, A. (2021). Acceptability and Feasibility of Collecting Sexual Orientation and Expanded Gender Identity Data in Urology and Oncology Clinics. LGBT Health, 8(6), pp. 420-426. United States. doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2020.0256
Maness, S.B., Merrell, L., Thompson, E.L., Griner, S.B., Kline, N., & Wheldon, C. (2021). Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities: COVID-19 Exposures and Mortality Among African American People in the United States. Public Health Rep, 136(1), pp. 18-22. United States. doi: 10.1177/0033354920969169
Guo, Y.i., Wheldon, C.W., Shao, H., Pepine, C.J., Handberg, E.M., Shenkman, E.A., & Bian, J. (2020). Statin Use for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Among Sexual Minority Adults. J Am Heart Assoc, 9(24), p. e018233. England. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.120.018233
Lessard, L., Watson, R., Schacter, H., Wheldon, C., & Puhl, R. (2020). Weight Enumeration in State Anti-Bullying Laws and Risks of Weight-Based Bullying Among LGBTQ Youth. OBESITY, 28, pp. 36-37. Retrieved from http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/
Rosen, B.L., Wheldon, C., Thompson, E.L., Maness, S., & Massey, P.M. (2020). Social media engagement association with human papillomavirus and vaccine awareness and perceptions: Results from the 2017 US Health Information National Trends Survey. Prev Med, 138, p. 106151. United States. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106151
(2020). Correction to: Tobacco Use Among Adults by Sexual Orientation: Findings from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, by Wheldon CW, Kaufman AR, Kasza KA, Moser RP. LGBT Health 2018;5(1):33-44. DOI: 10.1089/lgbt.2017.0175. LGBT Health, 7(5), p. 277. United States. doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2017.0175.correx
Talley, K., Polter, E., Haggart, R., Kohli, N., Konety, B., Mitteldorf, D., Ross, M., West, W., Wheldon, C., Wright, M., & Rosser, B. (2020). URINARY INCONTINENCE SYMPTOMS, SEVERITY, AND ASSOCIATED CHARACTERISTICS IN GAY AND BISEXUAL PROSTATE CANCER SURVIVORS ENROLLED IN A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL OF AN ONLINE REHABILITATION PROGRAM FOR URINARY AND SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION. NEUROUROLOGY and URODYNAMICS, 39, pp. S110-S111. Retrieved from http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/
Polter, E.J., Wheldon, C.W., Kohli, N., & Rosser, B. (2020). Abstract B037: The role of HIV status in health-related quality of life in gay and bisexual prostate cancer survivors: Findings from the Restore study., pp. b037-b037. doi: 10.1158/1538-7755.disp18-b037
Gamarel, K.E., Watson, R.J., Mouzoon, R., Wheldon, C.W., Fish, J.N., & Fleischer, N.L. (2020). Family Rejection and Cigarette Smoking Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents in the USA. Int J Behav Med, 27(2), pp. 179-187. England. doi: 10.1007/s12529-019-09846-8
Thompson, E.L., Wheldon, C.W., Rosen, B.L., Maness, S.B., Kasting, M.L., & Massey, P.M. (2020). Awareness and knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccination among adults ages 27-45 years. Vaccine, 38(15), pp. 3143-3148. Netherlands. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.01.053
Smith, R., Bishop, J., Hirst, J., Kokalova, T., & Wheldon, C. (2020). The Hoyle Family: break-up measurements to probe α-condensation in light nuclei. SciPost Physics Proceedings(3), p. 030. doi: 10.21468/scipostphysproc.3.030
Reiter, P.L., Gower, A.L., Kiss, D.E., Malone, M.A., Katz, M.L., Bauermeister, J.A., Shoben, A.B., Paskett, E.D., & McRee, A. (2020). A Web-Based Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Intervention for Young Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc, 9(2), p. e16294. Canada. doi: 10.2196/16294
Watson, R.J., Wheldon, C.W., & Puhl, R.M. (2020). Evidence of Diverse Identities in a Large National Sample of Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents. J Res Adolesc, 30 Suppl 2, pp. 431-442. United States. doi: 10.1111/jora.12488
Zhang, H., Wheldon, C., Dunn, A.G., Tao, C., Huo, J., Zhang, R., Prosperi, M., Guo, Y.i., & Bian, J. (2020). Mining Twitter to assess the determinants of health behavior toward human papillomavirus vaccination in the United States. J Am Med Inform Assoc, 27(2), pp. 225-235. England. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocz191
Wheldon, C.W., Carroll, K.T., & Moser, R.P. (2020). Trust in Health Information Sources among Underserved and Vulnerable Populations in the U.S. J Health Care Poor Underserved, 31(3), pp. 1471-1487. United States. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2020.0106
Kent, E.E., Wheldon, C.W., Smith, A.W., Srinivasan, S., & Geiger, A.M. (2019). Care delivery, patient experiences, and health outcomes among sexual and gender minority patients with cancer and survivors: A scoping review. Cancer, 125(24), pp. 4371-4379. United States. doi: 10.1002/cncr.32388
Polter, E.J., Wheldon, C.W., Rosser, B.R.S., Kohli, N., Capistrant, B.D., Kapoor, A., Konety, B., Mitteldorf, D., Ross, M., Talley, K.M.C., Terveen, L., West, W., & Wright, M.M. (2019). Health-related quality of life by human immunodeficiency virus status in a cross-sectional survey of gay and bisexual prostate cancer survivors. Psychooncology, 28(12), pp. 2351-2357. England. doi: 10.1002/pon.5228
Hernandez, N.D., Daley, E.M., Young, L., Kolar, S.K., Wheldon, C., Vamos, C.A., & Cooper, D. (2019). HPV Vaccine recommendations: does a health care provider's gender and ethnicity matter to Unvaccinated Latina college women? Ethn Health, 24(6), pp. 645-661. England. doi: 10.1080/13557858.2017.1367761
Wheldon, C.W., Roberts, M.C., & Boehmer, U. (2019). Differences in Coping with Breast Cancer Between Lesbian and Heterosexual Women: A Life Course Perspective. J Womens Health (Larchmt), 28(8), pp. 1023-1030. United States. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2018.6940
Thompson, E.L., Wheldon, C.W., Vamos, C.A., Griner, S.B., & Daley, E.M. (2019). How Is Health Literacy Related to Pap Testing Among US Women? J Cancer Educ, 34(4), pp. 789-795. England. doi: 10.1007/s13187-018-1375-z
Wheldon, C.W., Watson, R.J., Fish, J.N., & Gamarel, K. (2019). Cigarette Smoking Among Youth at the Intersection of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. LGBT Health, 6(5), pp. 235-241. United States. doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2019.0005
Zhang, H., Wheldon, C., Tao, C., Dunn, A.G., Guo, Y.i., Huo, J., & Bian, J. (2019). How to Improve Public Health via Mining Social Media Platforms: A Case Study of Human Papillomaviruses (HPV). In Social Web and Health Research (pp. 207-231). doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-14714-3_11
Martinasek, M.P., White, R.M., Wheldon, C.W., & Gibson-Young, L. (2019). Perceptions of non-traditional tobacco products between asthmatic and non-asthmatic college students. J Asthma, 56(5), pp. 498-504. England. doi: 10.1080/02770903.2018.1471705
Wheldon, C.W., Krakow, M., Thompson, E.L., & Moser, R.P. (2019). National Trends in Human Papillomavirus Awareness and Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus-Related Cancers. Am J Prev Med, 56(4), pp. e117-e123. Netherlands. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2018.11.005
Roberts, M.C., Krakow, M., Wheldon, C.W., & Silver, M.I. (2019). Differences in Family Health History Knowledge Among Bisexual and Lesbian Women. LGBT Health, 6(3), pp. 134-137. United States. doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2018.0217
Wheldon, C.W., Hoffman, L., O’Brien, E.K., Delahanty, J., Zhao, X., Kaufman, A.R., & Moser, R.P. (2019). The role of sexual identity in tobacco information–seeking behaviours and perceptions. Health Education Journal, 78(2), pp. 203-213. doi: 10.1177/0017896918801391
Wheldon, C.W. & Wiseman, K.P. (2019). Tobacco Use Among Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Adults in the United States. Tob Use Insights, 12, p. 1179173X19849419. United States. doi: 10.1177/1179173X19849419
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