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The objective of the present study was to determine the beneficial effects and the safety of oral administration of the combination of berberine (BBR) and plant stanols (PS) on plasma lipid profiles in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Four groups of animals were fed a cornstarch-casein-sucrose-based high-cholesterol (2%, w:w) and high-fat (27.5%) diet. Three treatment groups were supplemented with either BBR (100 mg kg −1 body weight d −1 ), PS (1% in diet, w:w), or the combination of both (BBRPS). After 6 wk, animals were sacrificed and followed immediately with the collection of blood and organ samples. Lipid analysis revealed that PS lowered plasma total cholesterol (T-C) by 18% (p = 0.067) and non-HDL-cholesterol (non-HDL-C) by 29% (p = 0.013) as compared with the control, while BBR had no effect on both T-C and non-HDL-C. The combination treatment of BBRPS reduced plasma T-C by 41% (p = 0.0002) and non-HDL-C by 59% (p < 0.0001) compared to the control group. BBR reduced plasma TG levels by 31% at a marginal significance relative to the control (p = 0.054), whereas PS had no effect. BBRPS showed an additive effect of BBR and PS on plasma TAG. PS and BBRPS both decreased liver cholesterol (p = 0.0027 and 0.0002, respectively). BBR and PS, either alone or in combination, did not show any toxic effects as assessed by plasma concentration of hepatic biochemical parameters. These results demonstrate that BBR and PS, when combined, synergistically lower plasma cholesterol levels and significantly reduce liver cholesterol, without the observation of any toxic effects. Crown

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a novel water‐soluble phytostanol anolog, disodium ascorbyl phytostanyl phosphate (DAPP), on plasma lipid levels and red blood cell fragility in hamsters fed atherogenic diets. For 4 wk, 50 male Golden Syrian hamsters were fed a semipurified diet without added cholesterol (noncholesterol, group 1), or a semipurified diet with 0.25% cholesterol (cholesterol‐control, group 2). Groups 3–5 were fed the cholesterol‐control diet with an addition of 1% phytostanols (diet 3), 0.71% DAPP (DAPP 0.7%, diet 4), or 1.43% DAPP (DAPP 1.4%, diet 5). Diets 4 and 5 provided 0.5 and 1% phytostanols, respectively. Supplementation of 0.71 and 1.43% DAPP decreased plasma total cholesterol concentrations by 34 (P<0.001) and 46% (P<0.001), respectively, in comparison with the cholesterol‐control group, whereas free stanols reduced (P=0.007) plasma cholesterol concentrations by 14%. Similarly, non‐HDL‐cholesterol concentrations were reduced by 39 (P<0.001) and 54% (P<0.001) in hamsters supplemented with DAPP 0.7% and DAPP 1.4%, respectively, relative to the cholesterol‐control group. The hypocholesterolemic effect of DAPP 1.4% was threefold stronger than that of free stanols. In hamsters supplemented with DAPP 1.4%, plasma TG concentrations were 45% lower (P=0.018) than in cholesterol‐control‐fed hamsters, whereas no such beneficial effect was observed in the free stanol group. Erythrocyte fragility was unaffected by DAPP or free phytostanols. Results of the current study demonstrate that DAPP lowers cholesterol more efficiently than free stanols, without an adverse effect on erythrocyte fragility in hamsters.

This study investigates the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on an intraseasonal time scale. The authors investigate the question of how the characteristics of NAO events are influenced by the choice of its definitions using daily NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data spanning 51 boreal winters. Four different NAO indexes are used in this study, including one station/gridpoint–based index and three pattern-based indexes. It is found that the NAO events obtained using pattern–based indexes are quite similar to each other, while some notable differences are observed when the NAO is defined using the station/gridpoint–based index (NAO1). The characteristics of the pattern-based NAO are found to be more antisymmetric for its two phases, including its time-averaged spatial structures, its lifetime distributions, and time-evolving spatial structures. The NAO1, on the other hand, reveals some asymmetric characteristics between the two phases. Emphasis is placed on comparing the characteristics of the NAO events obtained using the NAO1 index and one of the pattern-based indices, that is, NAO2. The time-averaged spatial structures for the NAO2 expand across more of the polar region than the NAO1. The positive NAO1 shows a wave train signal over the Pacific–North American region during the setup phase, while the negative NAO1 is found to develop more locally over northern Europe and the North Atlantic. The wave activity flux for the NAO2 is primarily in the zonal direction while for the NAO1, on the other hand, it is mostly concentrated over the North Atlantic with a pronounced southward component. The barotropic vorticity equation is used to examine the physical mechanisms that drive the life cycle of the NAO.

Changes in the relationship between interannual variation of spring (March–April–May) surface air temperature (SAT) over eastern Eurasia (SAT_EA) and Eurasian snow during 1972–2009 are investigated. The results show that the interannual variation in SAT_EA is significantly correlated with Eurasian snow cover anomalies (SCA) over two key regions, which include the western (SCAW) and eastern (SCAE) parts of the Eurasian continent. A pronounced climate shift of SAT_EA is observed around the late 1980s, and therefore, the data are divided into two subperiods, that is, 1972–1987 (P1) and 1988–2009 (P2). Examinations show that the relationship between SAT_EA and SCAW is impacted by the Arctic Oscillation. In contrast, the relationship between SCAE and the SAT_EA is Arctic Oscillation independent and is significantly increased from P1 to P2. Further analysis shows that the increased correlation between SAT_EA and SCAE from P1 to P2 cannot be well explained by the snow‐related surface heat flux. A wave train‐like anomalous circulation plays an important role in enhancing their relationship through intensified wind‐induced heat advection in P2, which causes reduced snow and increased SAT_EA. A lead‐lag regression analysis of the SCAE and the circulation anomalies indicates that the changes of the SCAE and SAT_EA are mainly responses to atmospheric circulation anomalies that occur 2 months before spring. Numerical experiments that use a linear baroclinic model indicate that the snow anomalies around Lake Baikal may impact the variation of SAT_EA through modulating atmospheric circulation over the East Asia‐North Pacific area.