The aim of this study was to examine the effect of extreme climatic conditions on certain immunological and physiological parameters in urine in participants of the 9 th Czech Antarctic Scientific Expedition, January-February 2015. The studied parameters were pH, number of leukocytes in 1 µl urine and the amount of proteins, nitrites, blood and haemoglobin in urine. A total of 45 urine samples were collected during 3 series of sampling (first pre-departure, second during the first 2 weeks of the stay in Antarctica, and third in the last 2 weeks of the stay). Paired t-test was used for comparison of the data from the Czech Republic and the Antarctica. We have found statistically significant decreases in pH and in the number of leukocytes in urine during the stay in Antarctica. The other parameters showed no changes. We conclude that several factors of the Antarctic environment (with lack of stress, pathogenic microorganisms and pollutants) may have positive effects on certain aspects of human health, and discuss the likely causes and mechanisms.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of extreme climatic conditions and a long stay in isolation on levels of three haematological parameters in the polar expedition participants. This article describes changes in erythrocyte count, hemoglobin and transferrin levels measured on the 9th Czech Antarctic Scientific Expedition during the period of the Antarctic summer. A total of 15 sera samples were collected shortly before the expedition, the second sampling was performed halfway through the stay and the third at the very end of the expedition stationed at the Czech Research Station of J. G. Mendel. The erythrocyte count and the levels of transferrin were significantly increased in between all three sample collections (with p-value < 0.01). A statistically significant increase in hemoglobin levels was only detected between the first and the final sampling (p

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of food intake, extreme climatic and other environmental conditions on metabolic parameters in serum in participants of the 9 th Czech Antarctic Scientific Expedition, January-February 2015 (8 weeks). The studied parameters included the level of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid and type of diet. The energy intake, amount of protein in food during the stay were analysed. The values of the above-specified parameters were compared with the answers of respondents to questions about food intake served during the expedition and analysed by the (ANOVA) Hartley F, Cochran C, Barttlet Chi test. A total of 45 sera samples were collected during 3 series of sampling. The first one was a pre-departure sampling, the second was taken after the first 2 weeks of the stay in Antarctica, and the third one during the last 2 weeks of the stay). Statistically significant decrease in uric acid and HDL cholesterol in sera was observed during the stay. For this purpose, Student´s paired t-test was used. Scheffe test revealed significant differences in levels of HDL between categories of expeditioners who ate significantly larger amount of protein and equal amount of proteins after 44 days of expedition. In this paper, we discuss the total cholesterol (HDL, LDL), which can lead to dietary problems under stress condition in the Czech Antarctic base.