No abstract

BackgroundInflammation and immune activation may play a role in the pathological mechanism of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Evidence from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of adolescents and adults has shown that MDD is associated with increased plasma pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-1β, IL-6). It has been reported that Specialized Pro-resolving Mediators (SPMs) mediate inflammation resolution, and Maresin-1 can activate the process of inflammation and promote inflammation resolution by promoting macrophage phagocytosis. However, no clinical studies have been conducted to evaluate the relationship between the levels of Maresin-1 and cytokine and the severity of MDD symptomatology in adolescents.Methods40 untreated adolescent patients with primary and moderate to severe MDD and 30 healthy participants as the healthy control (HC) group aged between 13 and 18 years old were enrolled. They received clinical and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) evaluation and then, blood samples were collected. Patients in the MDD group were re-evaluated for HDRS-17, and blood samples were taken after a six to eight-week fluoxetine treatment.ResultsThe adolescent patients with MDD had lower serum levels of Maresin-1 and higher serum levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) compared with the HC group. Fluoxetine treatment alleviated depressive symptoms in MDD adolescent patients, which was reflected by higher serum levels of Maresin-1 and IL-4 and lower HDRS-17 scores, serum levels of IL-6, and IL-1β. Moreover, the serum level of Maresin-1 was negatively correlated with the depression severity scores on the HDRS-17.ConclusionAdolescent patients with primary MDD had lower levels of Maresin-1 and higher levels of IL-6 compared with the HC group, implying that the peripheral level of pro-inflammatory cytokines may be elevated in MDD, resulting in the insufficiency of inflammation resolution. The Maresin-1 and IL-4 levels increased after anti-depressant treatment, whereas IL-6 and IL-1β levels decreased significantly. Moreover, Maresin-1 level negatively correlated with depression severity, suggesting that reduced levels of Maresin-1 promoted the progression of MDD.

A concrete roadmap toward a low-carbon society in case of Kyoto City

From 2009 to 18, the US based Center for Climate Strategies and Beijing based Global Environmental Institute led a cooperative US-China relations program on low carbon development (LCD). The template for bilateral cooperation leveraged traditional policy innovation and mainstreaming procedures in China through early stage training and counterpart exchange, co-development and piloting of tools, national endorsement for official use, training and capacity building, and cooperative planning actions. The experience suggests that the bilateral cooperation model through high level technical and institutional cooperation between governmental and nongovernmental experts worked well and can be replicated with customization to new bilateral relationships at different jurisdictional levels and for different issue areas. However, to succeed it requires years of stable investment and continuous counterpart engagement, and its application to new bilateral cooperation must address a variety of barriers. The China subnational LCD co-development process was enabled by an existing US template for state level comprehensive climate action planning applied in over 20 US states. Its domestication in China resulted in creation of the China Subnational LCD Planning and Analysis Toolkit, a pilot in Chongqing, official endorsement by China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and further recognition through a US State Department -China NDRC EcoPartnership. Ultimately, it involved many partners, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute for Policy and Management, the Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, and over 30 provinces and cities. It led to new China efforts addressing renewable energy implementation in South China, and for LCD and renewable energy cooperation in