Product Version Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.

V100R001 Product name: WCDMA RNP

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WCDMA RNO RF Optimisation Guidance

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Prepared by Reviewed by Reviewed by Granted by

URNP -SANA

Date Date Date Date

2004-04-13

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

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WCDMA RNO RF Optimisation Guidance

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Revision Record
Date 2004-04-13 Revision version 1.00 Change Description Initial release Jamal Author

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Contents
1 2 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 6 RF OPTIMISATION OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................... 6

CLUSTERS............................................................................................................................................................ 6 DRIVE ROUTES .................................................................................................................................................... 7 TOOLS ................................................................................................................................................................. 7 OPTIMISATION TARGETS ..................................................................................................................................... 7 OPTIMISATION SOLUTIONS .................................................................................................................................. 8 OVERALL PROCESS.............................................................................................................................................. 8 3 RF ANALYSIS APPROACH.................................................................................................................. 9

CELL DOMINANCE ............................................................................................................................................. 10 CPICH COVERAGE (RSCP)............................................................................................................................... 11 INTERFERENCE (CPICH EC/IO) ......................................................................................................................... 12 UPLINK COVERAGE ........................................................................................................................................... 13 PILOT POLLUTION.............................................................................................................................................. 14 ESTIMATED ACTIVE SET SIZE ............................................................................................................................ 15 NEIGHBOUR LIST VERIFICATION ........................................................................................................................ 16 UE SHO PERFORMANCE ................................................................................................................................... 17 DROP CALLS...................................................................................................................................................... 17 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ANALYSIS SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 19 PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS (TBA) ................................................................................................... 25 SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................ 25 APPENDIX A: DEFAULT COLOUR SCHEMES IN ACTIX (TBA) ............................................. 25 APPENDIX B: ACTIX PREFERENCES (TBA) ............................................................................... 26 APPENDIX C: ACTIX THRESHOLDS (TBA) ................................................................................. 26 APPENDIX D: EXAMPLE ACTIX CELLREF FILE (TBA) .......................................................... 26

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Tables
TABLE 1: CURRENT OPTIMISATION TARGETS. ......................................................................................................... 7 TABLE 2: PILOT POLLUTION RESULTS. ................................................................................................................... 15 TABLE 3: EXAMPLE OUTPUT OF THE NEIGHBOUR LIST VERIFICATION. .................................................................. 17 TABLE 4: SOFT HANDOFF SUCCESS RATE. .............................................................................................................. 17

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Figures
FIGURE 1: HIGH LEVEL RF OPTIMISATION STEPS. .................................................................................................... 9 FIGURE 2: SCANNER SCRAMBLING CODE PLOT. .................................................................................................... 11 FIGURE 3: SCANNER CPICH RSCP PLOT. ............................................................................................................. 12 FIGURE 4: SCANNER CPICH EC/IO........................................................................................................................ 13 FIGURE 5: UE TX POWER....................................................................................................................................... 14 FIGURE 6: ESTIMATED ACTIVE SET FROM SCANNER DATA. ................................................................................... 16 FIGURE 7: DROP CALLS AND SCRAMBLING CODE PLOT. ......................................................................................... 20 FIGURE 9: DROP CALL 1 (UE VS. SCANNER BEST SERVER). ................................................................................... 23 FIGURE 10: DROP CALL NUMBER 1 (ACTIVE & MONITORED SETS AT TIME OF DROP). ........................................... 24 FIGURE 11: RSCP COVERAGE FROM SC018. ......................................................................................................... 24 FIGURE 12: DROP CALL NUMBER 2 (DL SIR, EC/IO, UE TX POWER & DL BLER AT TIME OF DROP) ................... 25

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1 Introduction
This document provides a detailed discussion of the RF (Cluster) optimisation phase of the 3G radio network. It is expected that all integrated sites will undergo the Single Site Verification process as outlined in [Single Site Guidelines]. The objectives of the single site verification are to ensure there is no installation or parameters related faults with any of the sites. Once all the sites in a given area are integrated and verified, RF (or Cluster) optimisation could begin. This refers to the main phase of optimisation which aims at optimising coverage while in the same time keeping interference and pilot pollution under control over the target area. This document presents a step-by-step approach for the analysis of drive survey data collected using Agilent Scanner and Qualcomm test UE. The analysis is being done using Actix Analyzer. It should be emphasised that the RF optimisation will be an ongoing activity and will need to be revisited as traffic increases in the network and as new sites are deployed. In addition, as the network matures, the optimisation process should take into account statistical data and key performance indicators collected throughout the network. In this document, sample data from one part of the network is used to illustrate the various analysis techniques. Although this data is from an incomplete cluster of sites, it is sufficient for the purpose of this document. The layout of this document is as follows: Section 2 provides an overview of the RF optimisation process while section 3 outlines the analysis steps need to identify various RF issues. A summary of the analysis is provided in section 4. The appendixes at the end of the document contain various Actix related configuration data that should be used when performing data analysis to ensure consistency throughout the network.

2 RF Optimisation Overview
Clusters Due to the nature of UMTS (i.e. the inter-dependence of coverage and capacity and the frequency reuse factor of one), it is crucial that the RF optimisation is carried out for groups or clusters of sites rather than on single site basis. This will ensure that the impact of all the sites in a given area on coverage as well as interference is taken into account. Prior to any changes to a specific site, detailed analysis of the impact of such change on the adjacent sites must be considered to ensure there could be no adverse effects on the area.

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WCDMA RNO RF Optimisation Guidance Drive Routes

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The cluster drive surveys should include the coverage areas of each cell and all the major roads and streets as well as any other important locations. It is essential to use identical drive routes prior and post any optimisation changes in order to accurately quantify the impact of such changes. Tools The drive surveys should be conducted using the Agilent scanner and Qualcomm UE in continuous AMR call. The use of the UE data is important to the RF optimisation as it provides additional information that could help identify certain issues, such as: Uplink coverage problems, missing neighbours, too many soft handoff events, etc. The scanner will be using an externally mounted antenna while the UE will be kept inside the car in the same location for each drive test. For post-processing the data, Actix Analyzer will be used as outlined in this document. For consistency, Actix should be configured as outlined in Appendixes A-D of this document. Optimisation Targets The targets and thresholds in Table 1 below are for use in the early phase of network optimisation and are applicable to the scanner measurements unless otherwise stated. For description of terms such as pilot pollution, please refer to the next section. Item CPICH RSCP CPICH Ec/Io Active Set size (estimated) Pilot pollution Threshold UE Tx power SHO Success rate Max Target 8 dB <15 dBm >95 % Requirements Target - 85 dBm Minimum -95 dBm Target Minimum Target Max % -8 dB - 14 dB 3 < 10 % Based on scanner data. % of time a cell is seen as a pilot polluter. Relative to best server when cell in not in Active Set. Assuming 21 dBm max. For e1a, e1b & e1c Comments Corresponds to outdoor measurements. Applicable for unloaded network.

Table 1: Current Optimisation Targets.

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WCDMA RNO RF Optimisation Guidance Optimisation Solutions

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Most of the coverage and interference issues could be resolved through adjusting sites parameters, such as (in order of priority): Antenna tilt Antenna azimuth Antenna location Antenna height Antenna type Site location New site Detailed discussion of the different optimisation problems and solutions is provided in section 5. Overall Process The high-level Cluster process is depicted in Figure 1 below. As can be seen, the process can be quite iterative and therefore careful analysis is required to ensure the optimum solution is achieved with the minimum number of iterations.

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Start

Drive Test

Identify any RF Issues

Identify candidate cells for changes

Identify nature of required changes

Determine amount of change

Implement changes

Repeat Drive Test

No

Problem Resolved?

Yes End
Figure 1: High level RF optimisation steps.

3 RF Analysis Approach
This section presents various plots produced using Actix along with a description of the analysis approach. It should be noted that the effect of an RF problem will typically be seen in a number of these plots and therefore a summary of the analysis is needed to conclude on the fundamental causes of any failures. This summary will be provided in the next section.

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During the analysis of the individual plots, any observed issues should be marked to facilitate further investigations and comparisons with other plots. Cell Dominance One of the first plots that should be analysed is the scrambling code plot as shown in Error! Reference source not found.. The plot should visually be checked for: Cells with no dominance at all: This could indicate that a site was not radiating during the drive survey (this should be confirmed from the network stats). If a cell is suspected to not have been radiating during the test, the problem must be confirmed before proceeding with the rest of the analysis. (The drive survey will need to be repeated if not all the cells were radiating). Very poor dominance can also be caused by blocking of the antenna. If such a problem is suspected, a site visit must be made to verify the antenna clearance. Cells with either excessive or poor dominance: This could be due to a high site or non-optimum antenna tilts. Cells with too large dominance will be causing interference to adjacent cells resulting in poorer capacity. Areas of non-dominance: This refers to areas where there is not a single clear dominant cell and where the best server changes too frequently. Such conditions will result in excessive number of soft hand off events reducing the system efficiency and increasing the probability of call drops. UE vs. Scanner scrambling codes: It is also useful to perform visual comparison between the UE and scanner SC plots. Significant differences between the plots may indicate a missing neighbour or failed soft handoff problem.

Any observed issues should be marked on the plot for further investigation and correlation with other plots.

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Too many pilots leading to excessive soft handoff Example of too many best server changes

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Figure 2: Scanner Scrambling Code plot.

CPICH Coverage (RSCP) The RSCP plot should be analysed based on the thresholds presented in Table 1 which are summarised below: Good: RSCP -85 dBm Fair: -95 dBm RSCP < -85 dBm Poor: RSCP < - 95 dBm The above levels are applicable for outdoor scanner measurements. Areas of poor coverage as well as significant areas of fair coverage should be highlighted for further investigation.

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Example of poor coverage

Figure 3: Scanner CPICH RSCP plot.

It is also useful to examine the RSCP coverage on per cell bases in order to highlight any cells that have too large a footprint. An example can be seen in Figure 11 in section 4. When comparing RSCP coverage from scanner and UE, it should be noted that the UE will have lower levels as a result of the in-car penetration loss and differences of antenna gain. Interference (CPICH Ec/Io) In parallel with the analysis of RSCP coverage, the Ec/Io plot should also be analysed based on the thresholds presented in Table 1, as follows: Good: Ec/Io -8 dB Fair: -14 dB Ec/Io < -8 dB) Poor: Ec/Io < - 14 dB The -8 dB threshold takes into account the expected future interference increase as a result of increased traffic. Areas of poor Ec/Io should be checked against RSCP levels as follows: If RSCP levels are also POOR, then the fundamental cause of low is Ec/Io is poor coverage If RSCP levels are GOOD, this will imply strong system interference. Such scenario could arise when two sectors are pointing at each other.
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Areas of poor Ec/Io should be highlighted for further investigation. An example Ec/Io plot is shown in Figure 4 below. Comparisons of the Ec/Io plots from the scanner and UE should be made. Areas where UE Ec/Io is significantly lower than that of the scanner may imply a problem of missing neighbour or delayed soft handoff which can be associated with call drops.
An example of poor Ec/Io as a result of poor coverage

Figure 4: Scanner CPICH Ec/Io.

Uplink Coverage Error! Reference source not found. shows an example of UE Tx power. Any areas where the UE Tx power is high should be highlighted as areas of possible poor uplink coverage that require further investigation. Areas of high Tx power should be compared to the CPICH plots to verify if the problem only exists on the uplink.

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Example of high UE Tx power

Figure 5: UE Tx power.

Pilot Pollution Within Actix, the Pilot Pollution Set includes all pilots that are not in the active set BUT are within a certain margin of the best server (the margin is set to 8dB as listed in Table 1 above). An example of pilot pollution results is provided in Table 2. This shows the % of time each cell was seen as a pilot polluter. Cells which are frequently seen as polluters (e.g. >10) should be marked and investigated. These results should be used in conjunction with the Estimated Active Set Size, Figure 6, which shows the locations that have too many pilots.

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SC 8 9 10 11 12 13 16 17 18 19 20 21 32 35 37 43 48 53 67 80 130 Count 206 165 157 156 148 135 95 94 76 74 73 56 54 39 33 19 8 7 3 2 2 % in Pollution Set 12.9% 10.3% 9.8% 9.7% 9.2% 8.4% 5.9% 5.9% 4.7% 4.6% 4.6% 3.5% 3.4% 2.4% 2.1% 1.2% 0.5% 0.4% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1%

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Table 2: Pilot pollution results.

Estimated Active Set Size Another useful measure of pilot pollution is by looking at the estimated active set based on the scanner data. This plot is obtained by modelling the network soft handoff parameters within Actix. In order to see areas of excessive SHO candidates, the estimated active set size is allowed to exceed maximum of 3. Locations where there are more than 3 pilots in the active set should be marked and sources of the interference should be identified. This can be done in conjunction with the Pilot pollution analysis.

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An example of too many pilots (SHO candidates)

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Figure 6: Estimated Active Set from scanner data.

Neighbour List verification The neighbour list could be verified and optimised using the Neighbour List Verification tool within Actix. Prior to performing this analysis, the neighbour lists of each cell must be included in the CellRef file used by Actix. The tool compares the drive survey data against the neighbour list in the CellReff and then provides the following recommendations for each cell: Retain: This indicates that those neighbours have been confirmed from the drive survey data. Add: Missing neighbours (thats neighbours seen in the drive test but not included in the neighbour list) Remove: These neighbours that were not measured but are in the neighbour list. Table 3 below shows a typical example from running the Neighbour List Verification for one cell (SC: 009). It should be noted that careful consideration is needed prior to removing neighbours since the Actix results are drive route dependent.
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SC
009

Cell
70548

Site
Ajman Central

Latitude
25.41204

Longitude
55.447

Sample Sample Action Nbr SC Count Count

576 Retain Retain Retain Retain Retain Add Retain Retain Retain Retain Retain Remove Remove Remove Remove Remove Remove 018 010 016 032 011 130 021 008 020 012 017 053 019 034 037 013 051 82 46 31 20 18 17 17 12 6 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0

%
14.2% 8.0% 5.4% 3.5% 3.1% 3.0% 3.0% 2.1% 1.0% 0.9% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Table 3: Example output of the Neighbour list verification.

UE SHO Performance The success rates for event 1a, 1b & 1c and can be obtained from Actix as shown in the example below.

Number of Active Set Updates

Event Count Event 1a - Cell Addition 328 Event 1b - Cell Removal 306 Event 1c - Cell Replacement 64

Number of Active Set Update Completes

Event Count Event 1a - Cell Addition 326 Event 1b - Cell Removal 305 Event 1c - Cell Replacement 62

Soft-Handover Success Rate

Event Rate Event 1a - Cell Addition 99.4 Event 1b - Cell Removal 99.7 Event 1c - Cell Replacement 96.9
Table 4: Soft handoff success rate.

Drop Calls All drop calls which are due to RF issues must be analysed and the appropriate steps taken to avoid such drops from reoccurring.
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RF related issues that may result in drop calls may include: Poor coverage (RSCP & Ec/Io) High interference and hence poor Ec/Io Poor uplink coverage (insufficient UE Tx power) Poor dominance (best cell changes too frequently resulting in too many SHO events) Pilot pollution (too many cells present) Missing neighbours Fast change of RF conditions (e.g. turning a corner) If none of the above are the causes of the call drop and the RF conditions are evidently good at the location of the drop call, then the failure should be reported as a system fault for further analysis. (Such analysis would also require collecting network traces). Note that drop calls that repeatedly occur in same locations must be analysed in detail in order to determine the exact causes.

Drop Call Analysis There are a number of approaches for drop call analysis and the steps below are designed to assist in quickly identifying RF related failures: 1. If RSCP & Ec/Io degrades before drop for BOTH scanner and UE then check for coverage problems 2. If prior to the drop, the Ec/Io (and RSCP) degrades for UE ONLY while scanner shows no degradation, then the following checks should be made: a. Is the best server for the UE is the same as that of the scanner? (If not, its possible that the UE failed to perform soft handoff) b. Does UE camp on new cell immediately after drop? c. If the UE camps on a new cell after the drop, was that cell neighboured to the previous cell? (if not, consider adding this neighbour) d. Was the UE measuring this neighbour? e. Were there too many and too quick changes of best server making it difficult for UE to perform measurements and SHO in time. (if this is the case: improve cell dominance through antenna optimisation) 3. Does the UE Tx power increase to max prior to dropping call while Ec/Io level remains good? a. If the Tx power increase is gradual and UE is far from site the failure is due to uplink coverage limitation b. If the increase is sudden and UE may be not be too far from site - Check uplink load from SIB7 following drop call is it unusually high?

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i. If uplink load is reported to be high, confirm from network stats that the high load is due to genuine traffic otherwise check for a possible site fault ii. If uplink load is not high, problem could be due to possible power control failure. If the above steps do not reveal the causes of the drop calls then analysis of the messages should be carried out to determine the sequence of events prior to the drop call. If the drop call does not appear to be RE related and the RF conditions at the location of the drop appear to be goods then no further work is needed as part of the RF Optimisation. However, exact location of the drop should be marked for later comparisons with future drive surveys (if un-explained drops keep occurring at the same location, more detailed investigation will be required to establish the exact causes).

4 Analysis Summary
In the previous section analysis of various Actix plots were discussed as well as steps for identifying RF related drop calls. In this section a summary of the analysis is provided as well as possible causes of two drop calls labelled (1) and (2) in Figure 7 below.

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Drop 1

Drop 2

Figure 7: Drop calls and scrambling code plot.

Drop Call 1: Figure 7 shows that drop call 1 occurred at an area of frequent change of best server as shown by the scanner scrambling code plot and was highlighted in Error! Reference source not found. above. It is interesting to compare Ec/Io from both scanner and UE at the time of the drop as shown in Error! Reference source not found.. This clearly shows the UE Ec/Io to drop to < -21 dB while the scanner remained above -11 dB. Comparing the best servers from the UE and the scanner at the time of drop, Figure 9: Drop Call 1 (UE vs. scanner best server).Figure 9, shows that for the scanner and UE SC008 is the best server prior to the drop. However, about 30 seconds before the drop, the scanner selected SC018 as the best server while the UE continued to have only SC009 in its active set resulting in the drop call. Immediately after the drop, the UE camps on SC018.
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Examining the UE Active and Monitored set, Figure 10, does not show SC018 to be measured by the UE prior to the drop. This scenario resembles a missing neighbour problem, although in this case the two cells in question are neighboured. It seems that the best servers changes from SC009 to SC011 and then to SC018 were too fast for this UE to perform soft handoff on time. Although, other UEs may have succeeded in performing soft handoff in such conditions, it is important to improve the cell dominance in the affected area. Looking at Figure 7 clearly shows that at the location of the drop, SC018 should not be the best server. Cell SC018 clearly requires some down tilting to control its interference into the area of Drop 1. To illustrate this, RSCP coverage of SC018 (Figure 11) shows clearly that the cells is extending into a large area. E.g. around the location of drop call, SC018 RSCP is > -75dBm. Drop Call 1 Summary: The drop call appears to be associated with unnecessary change of best servers caused by excessive dominance of SC018. To improve the dominance in the affected area, SC018 should be considered for downtilting.

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Drop Call 2: This drop occurred close to SC020 where RSCP and Ec/Io are better than -65 dBm and -8 dB, respectively (based on scanner measurements). Unlike Drop 1, in this case: - there were no changes of best server following the drop call - Ec/Io & RSCP did not degrade prior to drop - Both UE and scanner were camped on same cell (SC020) It can be seen from Error! Reference source not found. that the UE was running at high Tx power (> 20 dBm) at the time of drop. In fact, Figure 12 clearly shows that just before the drop: - Ec/Io was as high as -5 dB - Target DL SIR starts increases up to 15 dB - UE Tx power suddenly increases to the maximum (24 dBm) - DL BLER increases to 100 % It appears that the UE ran out of Tx power which is unlikely to be a coverage problem since the UE is very close to the site and the degradation was too sudden. In addition a check using Actix of the uplink load from SIB 7 following the drop did not reveal any abnormal noise rise. Drop Call 2 Summary: The drop occurred in an area of good coverage and was preceded by a sudden degradation of quality and an increase of UE Tx power. The cause could be related to issues with UE power control performance.

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UE Ec/Io degrades before the drop

Figure 8: Drop Call Number 1 (with Ec/Io from scanner & UE at time of drop).

Scanner best servers NOT in UE active set

UE camps on SC018 after drop

Figure 9: Drop Call 1 (UE vs. scanner best server).

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SC018 was not measured by UE prior to drop

Figure 10: Drop Call Number 1 (Active & monitored sets at time of drop).

SC018 RSCP > -75 dBm

Figure 11: RSCP coverage from SC018.

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UE Tx power reaches max

Quality degrades to100 % BLER

Figure 12: Drop Call Number 2 (DL SIR, Ec/Io, UE Tx power & DL BLER at time of drop)

5 Problems & Solutions (TBA)

6 Summary
This document outlined analysis approach for RF drive survey data as well as analysis of some drop calls. Throughout the report, example Actix plots were used for illustration purposes only as the data was collected from an incomplete cluster of sites. This document will be kept updated with additional information and optimisation cases studies.

7 Appendix A: Default Colour Schemes in Actix (TBA)

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8 Appendix B: Actix Preferences (TBA)

9 Appendix C: Actix Thresholds (TBA)

10 Appendix D: Example Actix CellRef file (TBA)

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Lists of References

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