BackgroundThe study investigated the associations of rs9340799:A > G (XbaI) and rs2234693:T > C (PvuII) polymorphisms in the estrogen receptor 1 gene (ESR1) with femoral neck (BMD-FN) and lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD-LS), biochemical markers of bone turnover, calcium and phosphate levels, fracture prevalence, and a response to two types of anti-osteoporotic therapy in postmenopausal women from southern Slovakia.MethodsWe analysed 343 postmenopausal Slovak women (62.40 ± 0.46 years). The influence of rs9340799 (AA vs. AG + GG) and rs2234693 (TT vs. TC + CC) genotypes on BMD and biochemical markers was evaluated by covariance analysis adjusted for age and BMI. Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the genotype effect on fracture prevalence. Pharmacogenetic part of the study included women who received a regular therapy of HT (17ß estradiol with progesterone; 1 mg/day for both; N = 76) or SERMs/raloxifene (60 mg/day; N = 64) during 48 months. The genotype-based BMD change was assessed by variance analysis for repeated measurements.ResultsWomen with AA genotype of rs9340799 had higher BMD-FN (+ 0.12 ± 0.57 of T-score) and BMD-LS (+ 0.17 ± 0.08 of T-score) in comparison with AG + GG. The rs2234693 polymorphism did not affect any of the monitored parameters. No effect of any ESR1 polymorphisms was found on fracture prevalence. Both types of anti-osteoporotic therapy had a positive effect on BMD improvement in FN and LS sites. Considering the effect of the ESR1 gene within the HT, the subjects with rs9340799/AA genotype showed worse response than those with GG genotype (− 0.26 ± 0.10 of BMD-FN T-score; − 0.35 ± 0.10 of BMD-LS T-score) and also with AG genotype (− 0.22 ± 0.08 of BMD-LS T-score). The rs2234693/TT genotype responded poorer in BMD-LS in comparison with TC (− 0.22 ± 0.08 of T-score) and CC (− 0.35 ± 0.09 of T-score). The effect of the ESR1 gene on raloxifene therapy was reported only in BMD-LS. Subjects with rs9340799/AA genotype had a − 0.30 ± 0.11 of T-score worse response compared to AG genotype. The rs2234693/TT genotype showed − 0.39 ± 0.11 and − 0.46 ± 0.15 lower T-scores in comparison with TC and CC genotypes, respectively.ConclusionsThe rs9340799 polymorphism may contribute to decreased BMD in postmenopausal women from southern Slovakia; however, this is not related to higher fracture prevalence. Concurrently, both polymorphisms affected a response to analysed anti-osteoporotic therapies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12881-018-0684-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Flavonoids are a group of plant metabolites with antioxidant effects. One of the most abundant flavonoids in the human diet is quercetin. It is found widely in fruits, vegetables and has a lot of beneficial effects on human health. Quercetin has a positive pharmacological effect on bone metabolism and it prevents the organism against bone loss. However, its impact on the size of basic structural units of the compact bone is still unknown. Therefore, the aim of present study was to investigate the impact of the quercetin on femoral bone microstructure in 5-month-old male rabbits. Five rabbits of Californian broiler line were randomly divided into two groups. In the experimental group (E group; n=3), animals were intramuscularly injected with quercetin at dose 1000 μg.kg -1 body weight (bw) for 90 days, 3 times per week. Two rabbits without quercetin administration served as a control group (C group). According to our results, intramuscular application of quercetin had an insignificant effect on cortical bone thickness in male rabbits. In these rabbits, changes in qualitative histological characteristics were present in the middle part of the compacta, where primary vascular longitudinal bone tissue was present and expanded there from the periosteum. Also, a lower number of secondary osteons was found in these animals. From the histomorphometrical point of view, significantly decreased sizes of primary osteons' vascular canals and secondary osteons (p <0.05) were found in rabbits administered by quercetin. Our findings indicate that subchronic administration of quercetin at the dose used in our study had considerable impact on both qualitative and quantitative histological characteristics of the compact bone in adult male rabbits.

IVANIČ, Peter -LUKÁČOVÁ, Martina. Historical-Geographical Context of the Solun Brothers'Missions . In the Middle Ages travelling was lengthy, dangerous and expensive; long-distance travels were therefore not as frequent as they are today. Travellers were mostly traders, soldiers, artists, diplomats and missionaries. Byzantine scholars and saints, Constantine the Philosopher and his brother Methodius may be included in the two latter categories. The natives of Thessaloniki made several journeys in the second half of the 9 th century. The study focuses on their missions to the Arabs, the Khazars, to Great Moravia, and, finally, to Rome in 867, which was their last joint mission. The paper suggests possible routes and chronology of the journeys the brothers made during the studied period. Kľúčové slová: sv. Konštantín-Cyril, sv. Metod, Chazari, Veľká Morava, Benátky, Rím, misia Sv. Konštantín-Cyril spolu s bratom Metodom nepatrili len medzi popredných intelektuálov, kresťanských misionárov a diplomatov svojej doby, ale ako dokladajú písomné pramene o ich živote a diele, možno ich zaradiť aj medzi významných stredovekých cestovateľov. A práve na túto menej prebádanú dimenziu ich životných osudov sa chceme v našom príspevku zamerať. Pozornosť sme sústredili na dlhšie cesty, ktoré mali absolvovať k Arabom, Chazarom, na Veľkú Moravu a nakoniec do Ríma, kde sv. Konštantín-Cyril napokon ukončil svoju životnú púť. Predovšetkým sme sa snažili vytýčiť konkrétnu trasu ich cesty, priblížiť doterajšie názory na jej ciele a trvanie samotného cestovania. Prvá misia KonštantínaKonštantín Filozof sa zapojil do diplomatickej činnosti svojej vlasti už zrejme v mladom veku. Svedčila by o tom zmienka v Živote Konštantínovom, kde sa píše, že bol vyslaný k Aragénom, teda Arabom, keď mal 24 rokov. Predpokladá sa, že cesta sa uskutočnila v roku 850 alebo 851 a jej

LUKÁČOVÁ, Martina. Venice and Byzantium During the 5th -9th Centuries (Mutual Connections). The time and place, where an important event in Slavonic history took place, was an impetus to write the referred article. That event was the dispute with the so called trilingualists in Venice in the year 867. Our goal is not to deal with this event in detail, but to use it as one of the factors which influenced and made relations and mutual connections between Venice and Byzantium over a broad time range. Except the mentioned factor we focus on the further factors of interferences between Venice and Constantinople (the Byzantine Empire). The time when Venice was founded was a period which is clearly and logically connected with the Byzantine influence and thus we deal with this phase of development too. Within the framework of the given topic and time we describe only some selected noticeable interwoven factors -e.g. the emergence of the so called Byzantine Venice and its circumstances, the status of Venice as an part of the Exarchate of Ravenna, the position of Venice in the conflict between Byzantines and Franks. . Podnetom k napísaniu predkladaného príspevku bolo obdobie a miesto, kde sa konala vý-znamná udalosť v slovanských dejinách. Máme na mysli Dišputu s tzv. trojjazyčníkmi v Benátkach v roku 867. Naším cieľom nie je primárne a detailne sa venovať tejto udalosti, no využiť ju ako jeden z činiteľov, ktorý ovplyvnil a zároveň utváral relácie a vzájomné súvislosti medzi Benátkami a Byzanciou 2 v širšom časovom horizonte. Okrem spomenutého činiteľa tiež sústreďujeme našu pozornosť na ďalšie faktory interferencií medzi Benátkami a Konštantínopolom (Byzanciou). Obdobie vzniku Benátok je taktiež časovým úsekom, ktorý je zreteľne i logicky previazaný s byzantským vplyvom, a teda sa zaoberáme aj touto vývinovou etapou. V zmysle tematicky a časovo zadefinovaných vymedzení popisujeme iba niekoľko vybraných markantných usúvzťažnených faktorov, ako napr. vznik tzv. Byzantských Benátok a jeho okolnosti, ich postavenie ako súčasti Ravennského exarchátu, pozícia Benátok v konflikte medzi Byzantíncami a Frankmi. Podľa viacerých historikov: "Východorímska ríša neskorej antiky zažívala v 6. a 7. stor. dôležitú premenu do tej miery, že sa po polovici 7. stor., začal na časti jej územia vytvárať už iný politicko-geografický celok, pre ktorý je už vhodnejšie používať novodobý termín Byzantská ríša či Byzancia." (Hurbanič 2010, 5, 49; Husár 2014, 21; Talbot 1991, 346).

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