To investigate the influence of beer consumption on levels of homocysteine (HCY), vitamin B6, B12, folic acid (FA), dimethylglycine (DMG), betaine (BET) and other selected markers. One hundred and sixteen male volunteers were enrolled in the study. A one-month period of alcohol abstinence was followed by a one month when participants drank 830 ml of alcoholic beer every day. After that phase, one month of alcohol abstinence followed. At the beginning and after every phase, blood samples were taken and analysed. Ninety-three participants completed the study. After the phase of alcohol consumption, uric acid (UA) (p<0.0001), antioxidative capacity (AOC) (p=0.02), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (0.025), glutathione reductase (GRH) (0.0001), total cholesterol (p<0.0001), HDL-cholesterol (p<0.0001), Apolipoprotein-AI (ApoAI) (p<0.0001), LDL-cholesterol (p<0.039) and Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) (p<0.009) increased, while vitamin B12 (p=0.0001) and fibrinogen (p<0.0001) decreased. Other tested parameters (DMG, BET, vitamin B6 and FA) did not show any significant changes. UA changes and changes in AOC were statistically significantly correlated (r=0.52, p<0.0001). HCY, DMG and BET levels did not show any statistically significant changes after beer consumption, whereas some markers of redox metabolism increased (UA, AOC, SOD and GRH). A statistically significant correlation denotes the dependence of UA and AOC changes in connection with beer consumption.
V jádru města Trutnova byla odkryta terénní deprese nejasného původu, jejíž výplň poskytla materiál pro archeobotanický rozbor. Nejstarší vrstvy zásypu, datované do doby kolem přelomu 13. a 14. stol., odpovídají době změny vlastníka i statutu města, a patrně i změn urbanistických. Archeobotanické analýzy jednotlivých zásypových vrstev dovolují sledovat vývoj synantropní vegetace v okolí zkoumané polohy a změny v hospodaření s přírodními zdroji v exponované poloze podhůří Krkonoš v rozmezí 14. až 16. století. Nálezy naklíčených obilek ječmene dokládají kontinuální výrobu piva nejpozději od přelomu 14. a 15. stol. v místě, kde písemné prameny ze 16. stol. dokládají městský pivovar. and The fill of a terrain depression of unknown origin discovered in the centre of Trutnov provided material for archaeobotanical analysis. The oldest layers of the fill, dated to the turn of the 14th century, correspond to the period of change in the town’s owner and charter, and evidently to urbanistic changes as well. Archaeobotonical analyses of the individual fill layers make it possible to track the development of synanthropic vegetation in the area around the studied site and changes in the utilization of natural resources in the foothills of the Krkonoše Mts. between the 14th and 16th centuries. A find of germinated grains of barley is evidence of the continual production of beer at least from the end of the 14th century at a site where written sources from the 16th century document the town brewery.