Dual-site blood culture yield and time to positivity in neonatal late-onset sepsis

ObjectiveTo determine whether culture yield and time to positivity (TTP) differ between peripheral and central vascular catheter-derived blood cultures (BCx) in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients evaluated for late-onset sepsis.DesignSingle-centre, retrospective, observational study.SettingLevel IV NICU.ParticipantsThe study included infants >72 hours old admitted to NICU in 2007–2019 with culture-confirmed bacteraemia. All episodes had simultaneous BCx drawn from a peripheral site and a vascular catheter (‘catheter culture’).Main outcome measuresDual-site culture yield and TTP.ResultsAmong 179 episodes of late-onset bacteraemia (among 167 infants) with concurrently drawn peripheral and catheter BCx, the majority (67%, 120 of 179) were positive from both sites, compared with 17% (30 of 179) with positive catheter cultures only and 16% (29 of 179) with positive peripheral cultures only. 66% (19 of 29) of episodes with only positive peripheral BCx grew coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, while 34% (10 of 29) were recognised bacterial pathogens. Among 120 episodes with both peripheral and catheter BCx growth, catheter cultures demonstrated bacterial growth prior to paired peripheral cultures in 78% of episodes (93 of 120, p<0.001). The median TTP was significantly shorter in catheter compared with peripheral cultures (15.0 hours vs 16.8 hours, p<0.001). The median elapsed time between paired catheter and peripheral culture growth was 1.3 hours.ConclusionConcurrently drawn peripheral and catheter BCx had similar yield. While a majority of episodes demonstrated dual-site BCx growth, a small but important minority of episodes grew virulent pathogens from either culture site alone. While dual-site culture practices may be useful, clinicians should balance the gain in sensitivity of bacteraemia detection against additive contamination risk.

The Longshan culture site at Ximengzhuang, Tengzhou, Shandong

A small, walled settlement spanning the early through mid-Longshan culture was discovered at Ximengzhuang site, Tengzhou City, Shandong Province. The development of the settlement encompasses two periods: a square enclosure in the early period and a circular enclosure in the late period. Houses inside the enclosure might have been laid out in rows from south to north during the early period; late period houses can be divided into three phases. All houses were laid out along the circular enclosure, which could be used as a special space for storage. Cultural remains after the abandonment of the walled settlement date to the mid-Longshan culture. The Ximengzhuang site is the first small Longshan culture settlement to have been revealed in its entirety in China, with a clear trajectory of development and distinguishing characteristics as regards periodization. The Ximengzhuang site may have been a military outpost.

Chipped lithic assemblage from Linear Pottery culture site Rovanci - Hnidavska Hirka, Lutsk Oblast (Volhynia, west Ukraine)

This paper describes the analysis of LBK chipped artefacts discovered during rescue excavations carried out on the site of Hnidavska Hirka in the suburbs of Lutsk, western Volhynia. This assemblage consists of 103 artefacts made of Volhynian flint (93 artefacts) and obsidian (10 artefacts). This material constitutes one of the largest LBK chipped assemblages from area of the Volhynia.

Vengerovo-2—a Krotovo Culture Site in the Baraba Forest-Steppe: An Archaeozoological Study

В статье приведена характеристика остеологической выборки поселения Венгерово-2, принципов ее формирования, особенностей планиграфического распределения материалов в жилом пространстве, видового, возрастного и скелетного состава костей животных. Изученная коллекция состоит из костей высокой степени фрагментации, которые представляют собой отходы, появившиеся в результате обработки туш животных и использовавшиеся при приготовлении пищи, а также в производственной и ритуальной деятельности. На основе частотного статистического анализа выявлено преобладание домашних видов (62 %) над дикими. Отмечены различия анатомического набора костных остатков в хозяйственных ямах (тазовые кости, ребра, кости ног животных) и на производственных участках (челюсти, черепа, целые скелеты животных). Вероятно, в ямах хранились продукты питания, а на площадках — атрибуты ритуальной практики, сопровождавшей производственную деятельность. Реконструированная система скотоводства указывает на его придомовой характер с ориентацией на разведение мелкого рогатого скота, с небольшой долей лошадей и коров. Отмечена значительная роль охоты на крупных млекопитающих (лось, косуля), а также на пушного зверя (лисица, куница) и водоплавающую птицу. Сделан вывод о том, что заготовка пушнины, шкур и кож являлась одним из основных хозяйственных занятий населения. Для изготовления костяных орудий использовались в основном кости лося. Корреляционный анализ показал, что по составу анализируемый остеологический спектр в целом идентичен таковому синхронных памятников кротовской и елунинской культур.

Wstęp

The Przeworsk culture cemetery in Żelazna Nowa was discovered in 1999, when Stanisław Organiściak found large concentrations of artefacts on the surface of fields belonging to the villages of Żelazna Stara and Żelazna Nowa. The new sites in Żelazna Nowa were later confirmed archaeologically and identified as a cremation cemetery of the Przeworsk culture (site 2), and a settlement of Pomeranian and Przeworsk cultures (site 3). What was evident from the beginning was considerable destruction of the cemetery, caused by prolonged deep ploughing, actions of amateur archaeologists, and floods of the Vistula River, today flowing approx. 2.5 km north-east of the site. The edge of the river terrace forms a distinct arch pointing to the west, and marks a meander scar of the Vistula. Both archaeological sites lie within this arc. The settlement neighbouring the cemetery was investigated by means of surface surveys. Despite relatively large amounts of pottery and daub found on the ground surface, no considerable damage to the archaeological features was observed.

THE DONETSK NEOLITHIC CULTURE SITE OF BONDARIKHА II

The Neolithic site Bondarikha ІІ was explored 70 years ago by D. Ya. Telegin. The materials of the site were not processed utilizing modern methods. The authors of the paper re-examined and analyzed the site’s materials using current methodologies. The Bondarikha II site is set along a natural boundary on what is now the south-eastern outskirts of the modern city of Izium, Kharkiv region. The location of the site is a section of an over-flooded terrace that stretches along the left bank of the River Siversky Donets, and a section of an older river bed named the Willow Pit. In the north, sections of the terrace were crossed by an unnamed stream, and its southern boundary defined by floodplains. The lowlands nearest the terrace are primarily comprised of wetlands. It is quite clear that the Willow Pit was once an active river and seasonally may have transformed into a lake during times of flooding. The site is located approximately 7 m above the current floodplain. The general site position is typical for the Neolithic sites of Donetsk Culture, with the vast majority of which are located on terraces above the floodplain lakes of Siversky Donets, with the habitational remains occupying the highest areas of terraces, or the periphery / edges of such terraces. The interpretation of Bondarikha material culture was quite simple. The presence of pencil-like blade cores, oblique truncated points of the Abuzova Balka and Donetsk types, a series of blades displaying abrupt retouch on edges, along with bilateral burins, scrapers on flakes, and ovate axes are attestation that the assemblage and complex are connected with the advanced stages of Donetsk Culture. The estimation of the site’s age is possible only by the principles of relative chronology. The Mariupolian origin of the trapeze projectiles allows us to establish the earliest age range of the complex within the beginning of the VI millennium BC. However, the utilization of trapeze projectiles with flat dorsal retouch that spread in the basin of Siversky Donets in the third quarter of VI millennium BC is not present. Accordingly, we can safely place the age of the site within the first half of VI millennium BC.

Effects of fish cage culture on macrobenthic communities in a subtropical river

Tania NJ, Hossain MB, Habib, A, Musa N. 2020. Effects of fish cage culture on macrobenthic communities in a subtropical river. Biodiversitas 21: 3583-3589. The present study described the impact of freshwater fish cage culture on macrobenthic faunal assemblages in the Dakatia River, Chandpur, Bangladesh. The experimental design involved the establishment of four stations in two study sites, two stations near the culture area, and two stations away from culture area. A total of 23 macrobenthic taxa belonging to annelids, molluscs, arthropods, and other minor phyla were recorded from study sites. Oligochaetes were found to be dominant at all four stations composing 42.34% of the total macrobenthos. Pollution indicator benthic organisms i.e., Naididae (30.32%), Tubificidae (20.16%), and Chironomidae (3.54%) were found most in the cage culture area. The density of benthic macrofauna was higher (28,134 inds./m²) in the cage culture site than the non-cage culture site (4,358 inds./m²) due to high abundance of certain pollution tolerant species. However, the values of diversity indices i.e., Species Richness (SR), Shannon-Wiener (S-W) diversity (H´), Pielou’s evenness (E), and Margalef (J) were consistently higher in non-cage culture area than the cage culture area. One-way ANOVA showed no significant variation (P > 0.05) in diversity values between the sites. The results of the present study revealed effects of cage culture on the abundance, diversity, and composition of benthic macrofauna.

Kinship, acquired and inherited status, and population structure at the Early Bronze Age Mokrin necropolis in northern Serbia

Twenty-four ancient genomes with an average sequencing coverage of 0.85±0.25 X were produced from the Mokrin necropolis, an Early Bronze Age (2,100-1,800 BC) Maros culture site in Serbia, to provide unambiguous identification of biological sex, population structure, and genetic kinship between individuals. Of the 24 investigated individuals, 15 were involved in kinship relationships of varying degrees, including 3 parent-offspring relationships. All observed parent-offspring pairs were mother and son. In addition to the absence of biological daughters, we observed a number of young women and girls with no biological relatives in our sample. These observations, together with the high mitochondrial diversity in our sample, are consistent with the practice of female exogamy in the population served by Mokrin. However, moderate-to-high Y-chromosomal diversity suggests a degree of male mobility greater than that expected under strict patrilocality. Individual status differences at Mokrin, as indicated by grave goods, support the inference that females could inherit status, but could not transmit status to all their sons. The case of a son whose grave good richness outstrips that of his biological mother suggests that sons had the possibility to acquire status during their lifetimes. The Mokrin sample resembles a genetically unstructured population, suggesting that the community’s social hierarchies were not accompanied by strict marriage barriers.