Smoking cessation is associated with increased plasma adiponectin levels in men

SummaryObjectivesLow levels of adiponectin, an adipocytokine with anti-diabetic and anti-atherogenic properties, are associated with increased risk of future myocardial infarction in men. Previous studies have demonstrated that cigarette smoking is involved in the development of insulin resistance, and current smokers have been shown to have reduced plasma adiponectin levels. However, the influence of smoking cessation on adiponectin levels remains unknown. We sought to assess whether smoking cessation is associated with increased plasma adiponectin levels in men.MethodsThe study includes 72 men (47 non-smokers and 25 current smokers at baseline) with stable angina pectoris who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention and follow-up coronary angiography 6 months later. During the 6-month follow-up period, all 47 non-smokers remained non-smokers, while 15 men of the 25 baseline current smokers successfully quit smoking. We evaluated plasma adiponectin levels at coronary intervention and 6 months later.ResultsPlasma adiponectin levels at coronary intervention were comparable to those after 6 months in non-smokers (4.22 [3.15–6.43] vs. 4.58 [3.03–6.26]μg/mL, P=0.124) and in persistent smokers (4.77 [4.25–10.53] vs. 5.16 [4.11–8.10]μg/mL, P=0.721). Meanwhile, an increase in adiponectin level was observed in patients who quit smoking for 6 months (4.24 [3.30–5.70] vs. 5.50 [4.03–8.00]μg/mL, P=0.002). Univariate analysis revealed that the percent increase in adiponectin levels correlated positively with smoking cessation (P=0.003) and negatively with additional use of β-blockers (P=0.049). In addition, increases in adiponectin levels were closely associated with increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P=0.148), decrease in triglycerides (P=0.140), and additional use of renin–angiotensin system inhibitors (P=0.069). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that smoking cessation was an independent determinant of the increase in adiponectin (P=0.036).ConclusionsSmoking cessation is associated with increased plasma adiponectin levels in men with stable angina, suggesting that the significance of smoking cessation may be partly explained by the increase in adiponectin level

Equatorial plasma bubble seeding by MSTIDs in the ionosphere

Abstract Occurrences of equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) and medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) were studied using GPS satellite data-based total electron content mapping, ionograms, and 630 nm all-sky airglow images observed over the South American continent during the period of 2014–2015. In many cases, we observed a close relationship between the inter-bubble distance and the horizontal wavelength of the MSTIDs. The MSTIDs followed by EPBs occurred primarily in the afternoon to evening period under strong tropospheric convective activities (cold fronts and/or intertropical convergence zones). The close relationship between EPBs and MSTIDs suggests that MSTIDs could be one of the seeding sources of EPBs