Results from prospective cohort studies on fish or long-chain (LC) n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake and elevated blood pressure (EBP) are inconsistent. We aimed to investigate the summary effects. Pertinent studies were identified from PubMed and EMBASE database through October 2015. Multivariate-adjusted risk ratios (RRs) for incidence of EBP in the highest verses the bottom category of baseline intake of fish or LC n-3 PUFA were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis. Over the follow-up ranging from 3 to 20 years, 20,497 EBP events occurred among 56,204 adults from eight prospective cohort studies. The summary RR (SRR) was 0.96 (95% CI: 0.81, 1.14; I² = 44.70%) for fish in four studies, and 0.73 (95% CI: 0.60, 0.89; I² = 75.00%) for LC n-3 PUFA in six studies (three studies for biomarker vs. three studies for diet). Circulating LC n-3 PUFA as biomarker was inversely associated with incidence of EBP (SRR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.55, 0.83), especially docosahexaenoic acid (SRR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.88), whereas no significant association was found for dietary intake (SRR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.58, 1.10). The present finding suggests that increased intake of docosahexaenoic acid to improve its circulating levels may benefit primary prevention of EBP.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a subtype of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Either Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) or aerobic exercise (AE) has been reported to be beneficial to hepatic lipid metabolism. However, whether the combination of LBP with AE improves lipid accumulation of NASH remains unknown. Our study investigated the influence of 10 weeks of treatment of LBP, AE, and the combination (LBP plus AE) on high-fat-induced NASH in Sprague–Dawley rats. The results showed that LBP or AE reduced the severity of the NASH. LBP plus AE treatment more effectively ameliorated liver damage and lowered levels of serum lipid and inflammation. In addition, the combination can also regulate genes involved in hepatic fatty acid synthesis and oxidation. LBP plus AE activated AMPK, thereby increasing the expression of PPARα which controls hepatic fatty acid oxidation and its coactivator PGC-1α. Our study demonstrated the improvement of LBP plus AE on NASH via enhancing fatty acid oxidation (FAO) which was dependent on AMPK/PPARα/PGC-1α pathway.

Objective: Unhealthy foods were a major contributor to the occurrence of chronic non-communicable diseases. The promotion of nutrition labeling in the community can effectively help residents to choose healthy foods, which plays an important role in the prevention of chronic diseases. However, the public awareness of this measure is not clear. Our study used a structural equation model based on the KAP theory to analyze the interaction mechanisms among knowledge, attitude, and practice and aimed to evaluate the relationships among nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practice of residents, which can provide the basis of policy formulation for nutrition education and behavior intervention.Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study from May 2022 to July 2022 in the “Community Health Service Center”, and each “Community Service Station” in Yinchuan use a self-designed questionnaire and convenience sampling to evaluate resident nutrition labeling KAP status. This study adopted the structural equation modeling approach to analyze a survey of Chinese individuals through the cognitive processing model, interrelated nutrition knowledge, nutrition label knowledge, attitude, and practice.Results: According to the principle of sample size estimation, a total of 636 individuals were investigated, with the ratio of male to female being 1:1.2. The average score of community residents' nutrition knowledge was 7.48 ± 3.24, and the passing rate was 19.4%. Most residents had a positive attitude toward nutrition labeling, but the awareness rate was only 32.7% and the utilization rate was 38.5%. Univariate analysis showed that women had higher knowledge scores than men (p < 0.05), and young people had higher scores than older adults (p < 0.05), and the difference was significant. Based on the KAP structural equation model (SEM), residents' nutrition knowledge will directly affect their attitude toward nutrition labeling. Attitude played a greater role as an indirect effect between knowledge and behavior, while trust limits residents' practice of nutrition labeling and then affects their practice. It could be explained that nutrition knowledge was the prerequisite for label reading behavior, and attitude was the intermediary effect.Conclusion: The nutrition knowledge and nutrition labeling knowledge of respondents hardly directly support the practice of nutrition labeling, but it can influence the use behavior by forming a positive attitude. The KAP model is suitable for explaining residents' use of nutrition labeling in the region. Future research should focus on better understanding the motivations of residents to use nutrition labeling and the opportunity to use nutrition labeling in real-life shopping settings.

MiR-29a-3p has been shown to be associated with cardiovascular diseases; however, the effect of miR-29a-3p on endothelial dysfunction is unclear. This study aimed to reveal the effects and mechanisms of miR-29a-3p on endothelial dysfunction. The levels of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), and E-selectin were determined by real-time PCR and immunofluorescence staining to reveal the degree of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα)-induced endothelial dysfunction. A luciferase activity assay and cell transfection with a miR-29a-3p mimic or an inhibitor were used to reveal the underlying mechanisms of miR-29a-3p action. Furthermore, the effects of miR-29a-3p on endothelial dysfunction were assessed in C57BL/6 mice injected with TNFα and/or a miR-29a-3p agomir. The results showed that the expression of TNFα-induced adhesion molecules in vascular endothelial cells (EA.hy926 cells, human aortic endothelial cells [HAECs], and primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells [pHUVECs]) and smooth muscle cells (human umbilical vein smooth muscle cells [HUVSMCs]) was significantly decreased following transfection with miR-29a-3p. This effect was reversed by cotransfection with a miR-29a-3p inhibitor. As a key target of miR-29a-3p, tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 mediated the effect of miR-29a-3p. Moreover, miR-29a-3p decreased the plasma levels of TNFα-induced VCAM-1 (32.62%), ICAM-1 (38.22%), and E-selectin (39.32%) in vivo. These data indicate that miR-29a-3p plays a protective role in TNFα-induced endothelial dysfunction, suggesting that miR-29a-3p is a novel target for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.