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Background/Objectives: S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) is a natural compound implicated in the treatment of liver dysfunction. In this systematic review, our objective was to determine the efficacy, safety, and optimal dose of SAMe in liver diseases. Methods: Using the PRISMA methodology, we searched PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science using key MeSH search terms. For title/abstract screening, full-text review, and data extraction, two independent researchers reviewed articles, and a third researcher resolved conflicts. Data extraction also included a quality assessment of included articles. Results: Of the 1881 non-duplicated studies, 15 articles focusing on SAMe use in the liver were included. All included studies (n = 15) scored a 4 or 5 out of 5 points on the quality assessment, which indicated high study quality. Overall, SAMe was effective in improving liver-related parameters with few adverse events, which were primarily mild, transient gastrointestinal complaints. Conclusions: The most common doses were SAMe 1000 mg or 1200 mg per day with or without another treatment or natural supplement. Future studies are needed to assess long-term efficacy and safety data of SAMe and the optimal route of administration in liver diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nutritional management of depression has long been discussed, due to the perceived benefit of a nutritional product having less side effects than pharmaceutical agents. Candidate nutrients for managing depression include vitamin D, B vitamins, tryptophan, branch chain amino acids, probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, folate/methylfolate (also known as vitamin B9), and s-adenosylmethionine. This paper provides a narrative review of three nutrients which have significant scientific support for the management of depression. A deficiency in each nutrient is associated with depression, and interventional studies indicate that the correction of the nutritional deficiency may provide clinical benefit. We present epidemiological evidence, a mechanistic explanation and a review of interventional studies for these nutrients. Finally, relevant nutritional guidelines are presented with their conclusion for the role of each nutrient in the management of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metabolism of estrogen in today's population may be compromised for various reasons, ranging from environmental influences to genetic predispositions. This paper discusses the physiology of liver detoxification of estrogen and ways to optimize both hydroxylation and conjugation of these metabolites using diet and supplementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an account of interpretive effects involving same and different, relying on two claims: the first is that same and different are able to take scope, and the second is that they are presuppositional. On this account, same and different are decomposed into two parts: an additive operator TOO and a (non-)identity predicate. We argue that this account provides a more parsimonious account of well-known properties of same and different, such as the distinction between internal and external readings, as well as the parallelism effects discovered by Hardt and Mikkelsen (Linguist Philos 38:289–314, 2015). We also present a solution to a previously unexplained puzzle involving comparatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Obesity in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) can lead to various liver pathologies. In other species, reduced caloric intake and weight loss improve prognosis, and, often, hepatoprotectants are used to halt or reverse hepatocellular damage from fat deposition in the liver. There are no published therapies for reducing hepatocellular damage in obese marmosets. Methods: Fifteen obese marmosets were used to evaluate the ability of caloric restriction and pharmacologic therapy (S-adenosylmethionine + milk thistle extract, or SMT), alone and combined, to reduce elevated liver enzymes. Body weight and serum chemistries were measured every 4 weeks for 6 months. Results: Across treatment groups, there was a significant reduction in liver enzymes ALT and AST over time. SMT alone significantly reduced liver enzymes ALT and AST at 6 months from baseline. Conclusions: Caloric restriction and SMT, alone and combined, are effective at reducing liver enzyme levels in obese marmosets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concessivity in English is often associated with structures like Although it was hot, she went running. Although introduces a subordinate clause. There are also several markers of concessivity associated with coordinate structures, among them, all the same and nevertheless. The development of coordinate markers of concessivity has received little attention. Here I compare the histories of three markers that arose from expressions of identity: all the same, just the same, and at the same time. All arose at various times in Late Modern English. Rich rhetorical contexts for the development of concessive uses of all the same 'exactly the same' are attested in corpora. Contexts for the later development in the US of just the same are less rich, and analogy to all the same is probable. Both came to be well entrenched in concessive use and are used in clause-final as well as clause-initial and occasionally clause-medial position. By contrast, at the same time functions only marginally as a concessive. It is also used as an elaborator and is not attested in clause-final position. Data are analyzed from the perspective of Diachronic Construction Grammar. Implications for some current debates are discussed, specifically for establishing when a construction has come into being, what kinds of contexts enable this emergence, and what level of abstraction is appropriate for analysis of sets of related constructions. Finally, some modifications of hypotheses about position of connectives relative to the clause are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at determining the contribution of the kind same to the overall purpose of Plato's Sophist by contrasting semantic and syntactic interpretations. Preliminarily, it examines the reasons for the individuation of the kind being in 250a8-c5, pointing out that they depend on two ways of saying being, the collective and the distributive, which are identified by specific syntactic forms. The investigation of the same begins with a reconstruction of the controversial argument in 255a4-b7, which shows not only that it is valid, but also that the collective and distributive modes of saying are central to it. Next, it shows that passage 255b8-c8 bears no proof for the distinction between same and being, which is found only in 256a3-b5, due the introduction of two other modes of saying: according to oneself and in relation to another. A parallel of this result with the being/different distinction found in 255c13-d7 leads to the conclusion that the same differs from being as the kind that only says a being in relation to another. Because this formulation allows for a syntactic distinction between same and being in patterns that grant the equivalence of not-being and different, it is central to the purpose of the dialogue. Therewith, it is also proved that syntactic interpretations are more charitable to the text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Al-Anbar University for Islamic Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The novel Travel to Where the Moon Weeps by the Syrian writer: Suha Jalal Jawdat deals with a distinctive issue in the life of the torn and distressed teen, which is the fragmentation of himself and the relationship of communication and split with the other because of the psychological impacts and scars engraved inside her negatively or positively from her family, school and societal milieu. The writer chose the adolescence stage particularly, because it is the most striking stage in the life of the individual, so how did the external and internal factors impress the formation of a prior self in the novel? How did you deal with the other? What are the types of selves that are fragmented from the overwhelming self because of this ?. To find out this, I used in this study the psychological approach that infiltrates into the midsts of the human psyche to uproot its psychological potentials shrouded in the subconscious area, in addition to the two mechanisms of description and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the sensuous poetics of Li-Young Lee and its affinities with Walt Whitman's poetics, and also challenges precedent studies that focus on ethnic identity and Levinasian otherness in Lee's work. Lee and Whitman vividly picture the speaker's reaching out to the Other by tasting — eating, touching and loving — and they associate the ecstatic self-Other encounter which occurs through erotic communication with the ecstasy generated in writing and reading a poem. While most comparative studies of Lee and Whitman have characterised Lee squarely as a diasporic poet of otherness and Whitman as a mainstream poet of sameness, the essay illuminates Lee's ambivalent struggle for sameness along with his consciousness of otherness. The concept of 'foreignness' is key to understanding Lee's ambivalent struggle to reach the Other through acts of loving and writing. The 'foreignness' is what drives the poet to write poetry, which is another way of 'loving' the body of the Other. Lee's diasporic experiences might well have intensified his sense of being exiled, but this feeling has enabled him to explore the 'foreignness' in his relationship with the Other — whether that Other be a lover or a language. Thus, Lee's sensuous poetics exposes our ontological condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Este trabajo evalúa el impacto de la implementación del Servicio de Atención Médica de Emergencias (SAME) en la provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina, sobre las muertes por accidentes viales. A partir de información mensual de accidentes de tránsito de los 135 municipios de la provincia para los años 2016, 2017 y 2018, se explota la variabilidad en el momento de implementación entre los municipios y el hecho de que algunos nunca adoptaron el servicio para identificar el efecto promedio de la intervención en los municipios con SAME mediante la metodología de Diferencias en Diferencias. El principal resultado es que la incorporación del SAME produjo una reducción promedio del 19% en la tasa de defunciones cada mil accidentados con respecto a su línea de base.

Motivated by the cross-linguistic connection between same and scalar equatives, this paper proposes an explicit equative-like syntax and semantics of the same-construction by decomposing same into an equation head -eqtv (parameter marker) and an identity predicate ident (parameter). This move not only provides a novel way of unifying the internal and external uses of same under a compositional account, but also further sheds light on why same differs from other relational adjectives in terms of the licensing conditions for the internal use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concept formation requires animals to learn and use abstract rules that transcend the characteristics of specific stimuli. Abstract concepts are often associated with high levels of cognitive sophistication, so there has been much interest in which species can form and use concepts. A key abstract concept is that of sameness and difference, where stimuli are classified as either the same as or different than an original stimulus. Here, we used a simultaneous two-item same-different task to test whether paper wasps (Polistes fuscatus) can learn and apply a same-different concept. We trained wasps by simultaneously presenting pairs of same or different stimuli (e.g. colours). Then, we tested whether wasps could apply the concept to new stimuli of the same type (e.g. new colours) and to new stimulus types (e.g. odours). We show that wasps learned a general concept of sameness or difference and applied it to new samples and types of stimuli. Notably, wasps were able to transfer the learned rules to new stimuli in a different sensory modality. Therefore, P. fuscatus can classify stimuli based on their relationships and apply abstract concepts to novel stimulus types. These results indicate that abstract concept learning may be more widespread than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mood disorders affect more than 500 million people around the world. In the last decade, their prevalence has increased, and many people suffer from nervousness, anxiety, and stress at least once in their lives. The incidence of mood disorders and anxiety increases during perimenopause or under stressful conditions. The social restrictions introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly increased the normal burden of psychological and psychic disorders. In moderate to severe cases, pharmacological treatment is currently recommended, while in mild disorders, especially in the initial phase, psychological therapy is preferable. It is known that several nutrients are crucial for brain function. Among them, folate (vitamin B9), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), and S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) have been shown to influence various neurobiological processes. Overall, the available evidence suggests that dietary supplementation with folic acid, vitamin B12, and SAMe can be beneficial for people with mild mood disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & aimsGlycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT) expression is decreased in some patients with severe non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Gnmt deficiency in mice (Gnmt-KO) results in abnormally elevated serum levels of methionine and its metabolite S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), and this leads to rapid liver steatosis development. Autophagy plays a critical role in lipid catabolism (lipophagy), and defects in autophagy have been related to liver steatosis development. Since methionine and its metabolite SAMe are well known inactivators of autophagy, we aimed to examine whether high levels of both metabolites could block autophagy-mediated lipid catabolism.MethodsWe examined methionine levels in a cohort of 358 serum samples from steatotic patients. We used hepatocytes cultured with methionine and SAMe, and hepatocytes and livers from Gnmt-KO mice.ResultsWe detected a significant increase in serum methionine levels in steatotic patients. We observed that autophagy and lipophagy were impaired in hepatocytes cultured with high methionine and SAMe, and that Gnmt-KO livers were characterized by an impairment in autophagy functionality, likely caused by defects at the lysosomal level. Elevated levels of methionine and SAMe activated PP2A by methylation, while blocking PP2A activity restored autophagy flux in Gnmt-KO hepatocytes, and in hepatocytes treated with SAMe and methionine. Finally, normalization of methionine and SAMe levels in Gnmt-KO mice using a methionine deficient diet normalized the methylation capacity, PP2A methylation, autophagy, and ameliorated liver steatosis.ConclusionsThese data suggest that elevated levels of methionine and SAMe can inhibit autophagic catabolism of lipids contributing to liver steatosis.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common liver disease worldwide affecting over one-third of the population in the U.S. It has been associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance and is initiated by the accumulation of triglycerides in hepatocytes. Isolated hepatic steatosis (IHS) remains a benign process, while a subset develops superimposed inflammatory activity and progression to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with or without fibrosis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying NAFLD progression are not completely understood. Liver biopsy is still required to differentiate IHS from NASH as easily accessible noninvasive biomarkers are lacking. In terms of treatments for NASH, pioglitazone, vitamin E, and obeticholic acid have shown some benefit. All of these agents have potential complications associated with long-term use. Nowadays, a complex hypothesis suggests that multiple parallel hits are involved in NASH development. However, the 'key switch' between IHS and NASH remains to be discovered. We have recently shown that knocking out enzymes involved in S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) metabolism, the main biological methyl donor in humans that is abundant in the liver, will lead to NASH development in mice. This could be due to the fact that a normal SAMe level is required to establish the proper ratio of phosphatidylethanolamine to phosphatidylcholine that has been found to be important in NAFLD progression. New data from humans have also suggested that these enzymes play a role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD and that some of SAMe cycle metabolites may serve as noninvasive biomarkers of NASH. In this review, we discuss the evidence of the role of SAMe in animal models and humans with NAFLD and how studying this area may lead to the discovery of new noninvasive biomarkers and possibly personalized treatment for NASH.

This paper offers a unified structural analysis of anaphora and relative clauses licensed by same within definite descriptions. Taking as a point of departure the proposal that indices occupy syntactic positions in anaphoric DPs (Schwarz 2009; Simonenko 2014, i.a.), I examine the open issue of how anaphoric modifiers, particularly same, interact with this proposed structural complexity. Based on the morphosyntactic behavior of definites with same, I argue that indices may be introduced via different positions within the DP. I argue moreover that the behavior of same in both anaphoric and non-anaphoric contexts supports the view that same is syntactically an equative head (Alrenga 2007; Oxford 2010), whose selectional properties are shared across equative constructions. I also propose an analysis of as-relatives that accounts for their alternation with anaphoric interpretations, and offer a comparison with restrictive relatives.

Numerous geriatric patients are using Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for late-life mood and cognitive disorders. Natural products and supplements are a common CAM intervention which have risks and benefits of which patients should be appropriately advised. The data for omega-3 fatty acids, ginkgo biloba, SAMe, St John's wort, B vitamins and vitamin D, huperzine, caprylidene, and coconut oil will be evaluated. Since the evidence basis for natural products and supplements is limited, especially for the geriatric population, studies involving the general adult population are included to infer effects in the aging population. Despite the data available, more rigorous studies with larger sample sizes over longer periods of time are still needed. Regardless of a physician's preference to recommend various natural supplements and products, a physician could protect their patients by having an understanding of the side effects and indications for various natural products.

DNA hypermethylation is one of the most common epigenetic modifications in prostate cancer (PCa). Several studies have delineated sarcosine as a PCa oncometabolite that increases the migration of malignant prostate cells while decreasing their doubling time. Here, we show that incubation of prostate cells with sarcosine elicited the upregulation of sarcosine N‐demethylation enzymes, sarcosine dehydrogenase and pipecolic acid oxidase. This process was accompanied by a considerable increase in the production of the major methyl‐donor S‐adenosylmethionine (SAMe), together with an elevation of cellular methylation potential. Global DNA methylation analyses revealed increases in methylated CpG islands in distinct prostate cell lines incubated with sarcosine, but not in cells of nonprostate origin. This phenomenon was further associated with marked upregulation of DNA methyltransferases (Dnmts). Epigenetic changes were recapitulated through blunting of Dnmts using the hypomethylating agent 5‐azacytidine, which was able to inhibit sarcosine‐induced migration of prostate cells. Moreover, spatial mapping revealed concomitant increases in sarcosine, SAMe and Dnmt1 in histologically confirmed malignant prostate tissue, but not in adjacent or nonmalignant tissue, which is in line with the obtained in vitro data. In summary, we show here for the first time that sarcosine acts as an epigenetic modifier of prostate cells and that this may contribute to its oncometabolic role.

Six pigeons were trained using a matching-to-sample procedure where sample and rewarded comparisons matched on both attributional (color) and relational (horizontal or vertical orientation) dimensions. Probes then evaluated the pigeons' preference to comparisons that varied in these dimensions. A strong preference was found for the attribute of color. The discrimination was not found to transfer to novel colors, however, suggesting that a general color rule had not been learned. Further, when color could not be used to guide responding, some influence of other attributional cues such as shape, but not relational cues, was found. We conclude that pigeons based their performance on attributional properties of but not on relational properties between elements in our matching-to-sample procedure. Future studies should look at examining other attributes to compare attributional versus relational processing.

Copyright of Anuario Español de Derecho Internacional Privado is the property of Iprolex SL and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Signa is the property of Editorial UNED and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• SAMe is considered effective and safe as a natural treatment for depression. • Cannabidiol has biochemical evidence suggesting benefit in psychiatric disorders. • Kratom may alleviate psychiatric disorders or facilitate opioid discontinuation. • These medications, particularly kratom, may have some serious adverse effects. • These remedies should be used cautiously, preferably under clinician supervision. Given the limitations of prescription antidepressants, many individuals have turned to natural remedies for the management of their mood disorders. We review three selected natural remedies that may be of potential use as treatments for depressive disorders and other psychiatric or neurological conditions. The best studied and best supported of these three remedies is S-adenosyl- l -methionine (SAMe), a methyl donor with a wide range of physiological functions in the human organism. With the increasing legalization of cannabis-related products, cannabidiol (CBD) has gained popularity for various potential indications and has even obtained approval in the United States and Canada for certain neurological conditions. Kratom, while potentially useful for certain individuals with psychiatric disorders, is perhaps the most controversial of the three remedies, in view of its greater potential for abuse and dependence. For each remedy, we will review indications, doses and delivery systems, potential anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory action, adverse effects, and will provide recommendations for clinicians who may be considering prescribing these remedies in their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Macbeth (ca. 1606), William Shakespeare returns all the way back to his metaphysics which he had demonstrated magnificently in A Midsummer Night's Dream (ca. 1595) and Hamlet (ca. 1600). These works represent Shakespeare's dramaturgical treatment of Being, substance, essence, etc. One of the chief elements of these plays is supernaturality, or nothingness (non-being) in a sense interrupting Being and human activities. These elements are presented in Julius Caesar (1599) as well, a history play which has commonalities with Macbeth. Yet few of his tragedies offer a world so dipped in horror and darkness as Macbeth. Ethics might thus be a far-fetched component among these grisly sensations and in the bloody atmosphere of this tragedy, but with the help of Emmanuel Lévinas (1906–1995), traces of ethical exigency can be discerned. Approaching Macbeth through Lévinas's philosophy, we attempt to study some ways in which ethics can be addressed and studied in this dark world. We will discuss Macbeth's struggles with time (mostly his future) and the Other as metaphors of alterity intruding into and interrupting his totalizing conatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the first successful demonstration of a simultaneous, two-item same-different (S/D) discrimination by 6 pigeons, in which nonpictorial color and shape stimuli were used. This study was conducted because the majority of recently successful demonstrations of S/D discrimination in pigeons have employed displays with more than two items. Two pairs of stimulus items were simultaneously presented on a touch screen equipped computer monitor. Pigeons were reinforced for consistently pecking at either the same (i.e., identical) or the different (i.e., nonidentical) pair of items. These pairs were created from combinations of simple colored shapes drawn from a pool of six colors and six shapes. After acquiring the discrimination with item pairs that differed redundantly in both the shape and the color dimensions, the pigeons were tested for transfer to items that varied in only one of these dimensions. Although both dimensions contributed to the discrimination, greater control was exhibited by the color dimension. Most important, the discrimination transferred in tests with novel colored, shaped, and sized items, suggesting that the mechanisms involved were not stimulus specific but were more generalized in nature. These results suggest that the capacity to judge S/D relations is present in pigeons even when only two stimuli are used to implement this contrast.

This paper presents a study of a discourse relational device, namely same, in French Belgian Sign Language and Catalan Sign Language. Three aspects of same are examined including its distribution across genres, its functional description and its position in discourse. Two comparable samples were extracted from the reference corpora of these two sign languages. An annotation protocol and a segmentation model designed for the study of discourse relational devices in the spoken modality were used with the necessary adaptations to the signed modality. The results show a different distribution of same across genres in each sign language and several possible positions. Although same is polyfunctional in the two datasets, the most frequent function in the French Belgian Sign Language dataset (i.e., addition) is not found in the Catalan Sign Language dataset. This finding indicates that equivalent discourse relational devices in the signed modality also have language-specific functions as their counterparts in the spoken modality do.

Levinas' relationship to Platonism is ambiguous. In Totality and In- finity, indeed, references to Plato's writings are multiple and Levinas depicts Plato as following two diverging paths. On the one hand, Levinas considers Plato's writings to be works that consecrate the primacy of identity over difference, of the Same over the Other. On the other hand, Platonism is presented as a philosophy of absolute transcendence due to its refusal to make the Good a simple ontological principle and to its attempt to free the Good from all forms of totality. The present study aims to show that, although Levinas criticizes the first path taken by Plato, he conceives of himself as partially in line with Plato's philosophy of absolute transcendence, albeit in a paradoxical form. In this way, Levinas understands the meaning of the Platonic approach in an original way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA hypermethylation is one of the most common epigenetic modifications in prostate cancer (PCa). Several studies have delineated sarcosine as a PCa oncometabolite that increases the migration of malignant prostate cells while decreasing their doubling time. Here, we show that incubation of prostate cells with sarcosine elicited the upregulation of sarcosine N‐demethylation enzymes, sarcosine dehydrogenase and pipecolic acid oxidase. This process was accompanied by a considerable increase in the production of the major methyl‐donor S‐adenosylmethionine (SAMe), together with an elevation of cellular methylation potential. Global DNA methylation analyses revealed increases in methylated CpG islands in distinct prostate cell lines incubated with sarcosine, but not in cells of nonprostate origin. This phenomenon was further associated with marked upregulation of DNA methyltransferases (Dnmts). Epigenetic changes were recapitulated through blunting of Dnmts using the hypomethylating agent 5‐azacytidine, which was able to inhibit sarcosine‐induced migration of prostate cells. Moreover, spatial mapping revealed concomitant increases in sarcosine, SAMe and Dnmt1 in histologically confirmed malignant prostate tissue, but not in adjacent or nonmalignant tissue, which is in line with the obtained in vitro data. In summary, we show here for the first time that sarcosine acts as an epigenetic modifier of prostate cells and that this may contribute to its oncometabolic role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: It has been suggested that patients' perception of treatment assignment might serve to bias results of double blind randomized controlled trials (RCT). Most previous evidence on the effects of patients' perceptions and the mechanisms influencing these perceptions relies on cross-sectional associations. This re-analysis of a double blind, placebo controlled RCT of pharmacological treatment of major depression set out to gather longitudinal evidence on the mechanism and effects of patients' perceived treatment assignment in the pharmacological treatment of major depression.Methods: One-hundred eighty-nine outpatients with DSM-IV diagnosed major depression were randomized to SAMe 1,600–3,200 mg/d, escitalopram 10–20 mg/days, or placebo for 12 weeks. Data on depressive symptoms (17-item Hamilton Depression Scale; HDRS-17), adverse events and patients' perceived treatment assignment was collected at baseline, week 6, and week 12. The re-analysis focused on N = 166 (out of the originally included 189 participants) with available data on perceived treatment assignment.Results: As in the parent trial, depressive symptoms (HDRS-17) significantly decreased over the course of 12 weeks and there was no difference between placebo, SAMe or escitalopram. A significant number of patients changed their perceptions about treatment assignment throughout the trial, especially between baseline and week 6. Improvement in depressive symptoms, but not adverse events significantly predicted perceived treatment assignment at week 6. In turn, perceived treatment assignment at week 6, but not actual treatment, predicted further improvement in depressive symptoms at week 12.Conclusions: The current results provide longitudinal evidence that patients' perception of treatment assignment systematically change despite a double blind procedure and in turn might trigger expectancy effects with the potential to bias the validity of an RCT.Parent study grant number: R01 AT001638 Parent study ClinicalTrials. gov Identifier: NCT00101452

En el presente artículo se realiza una evaluación del impacto en la matriz energética de la implementación de una estrategia de Reducción del consumo energético en el sector residencial del Ecuador. La propuesta de Reducción del consumo energético residencial considera la electrificación de los sistemas de cocción y calentamiento de agua en las viviendas, por medio de sistemas de alta eficiencia en sustitución de los cilindros de GLP. Asimismo, se evalúa la reducción del consumo energético en las viviendas debido a la integración de criterios bioclimáticos en la construcción de viviendas y edificios, así como, a la sustitución de equipos eléctricos ineficientes de refrigeración e iluminación con ayuda del software de Simulación y Análisis de la Matriz Energética, SAME. En el escenario de sustitución del GLP revela que implicaría un incremento del consumo eléctrico doméstico lo que exigiría la construcción de nuevas centrales eléctricas para cubrir el incremento de demanda esperada. La implementación de estrategias de eficiencia energética, basada en la integración de equipos eficientes de refrigeración e iluminación, así como la integración de sistemas solares térmicos, permitiría reducir sustancialmente la construcción de nuevas centrales hidroeléctricas, evitando la importación de electricidad de países vecinos y el impacto medioambiental de las represas hidroeléctricas.