The study of the Bom Santo Cave (central Portugal), a Neolithic cemetery, indicates a complex social, palaeoeconomic, and population scenario. With isotope, aDNA, and provenance analyses of raw materials coupled with stylistic variability of material culture items and palaeogeographical data, light is shed on the territory and social organization of a population dated to 3800-3400 cal BC, i.e. the Middle Neolithic. Results indicate an itinerant farming, segmentary society, where exogamic practices were the norm. Its lifeway may be that of the earliest megalithic builders of the region, but further research is needed to correctly evaluate the degree of this community's participation in such a phenomenon.

Introduction: Bats have become an epidemiologically significant source of pathogenic microorganisms, such as leptospires, the causative agents of leptospirosis. However, little information exists about bats and their potential role as a reservoir of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in Colombia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in the kidneys of bats from the Caribbean region of Colombia deposited in the collection of mammals of the Museo Javeriano de Historia Natural (MPUJ-MAMM). Methodology: DNA was extracted from twenty-six kidney samples from a total of 13 species of bats captured in Colombia. First, 16S ribosomal RNA conventional PCR was performed to detect the presence of Leptospira spp. Then, in samples that tested positive, LipL32 PCR was performed to detect pathogenic Leptospira spp. by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Results: The presence of Leptospira spp. was observed in 7/26 (26.9%) bats from the following 6 species: Carollia perspicillata, Glossophaga soricina, Dermanura phaeotis, Uroderma bilobatum, Desmodus rotundus, and Lophostoma silvicolum, and pathogenic Leptospira spp. were detected in 4/26 samples (15.4%). Conclusions: This study suggests that bats present in the Caribbean region of Colombia could be potential reservoirs of pathogenic Leptospira spp.

Aims To study the correlation between the workload of intensive care nursing teams and the sociodemographic, anthropometric and clinical characteristics of patients in critical condition in a Portuguese Intensive Care Unit (ICU) during a 5‐year period. Background Currently, indices of nursing workload quantification are one of the resources used for planning and evaluating ICUs. Evidence shows that there are several factors related to critical patients and their hospitalisation which potentially influence the nursing workload. Design Retrospective cohort analysis of a health record database from adult patients admitted to a Portuguese ICU between 1 January 2015–31 December 2019. Methods Simplified Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (TISS‐28) scores of 730 adult patients. Three TISS‐28 assessments were considered: first assessment, last assessment and average. The STROBE guidelines were used in reporting this study. Results The TISS‐28 has an average of 34.2 ± 6.9 points at admission, which is considered a high nursing workload. A somewhat lower result was found for the discharge and average assessments. It shows that basic activities accounted for the highest percentage of time spent (38.0%), followed by the cardiovascular support category (26.5%). The TISS‐28 shows consistent results throughout the study period, despite a small trend reduction in the last 2 years. Conclusions Lower workloads were found for age ≤44 years and with a shorter length of stay. Higher workload was more probable in patients classified in Cullen Class IV (OR = 2.5) and with a normal to higher weight percentile (OR = 1.9 and 1.5, respectively). Relevance to clinical practice Knowledge of the factors influencing the nursing workload facilitates the implementation of rules to improve performance in nursing interventions, based on the redefinition of care priorities, increased productivity, human resources management and reduction of additional costs to the organisation, related to possible adverse events, among others.

Dong J. Two giant peritoneal loose bodies were simultaneously found in one patient: a case report and review of the literature. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2017;36:74-7. RESUMOEmbora a ingestão de corpo estranho seja uma situação relativamente comum, a perfuração e penetração do trato gastrointestinal é pouco frequente e a formação de um abcesso hepático é ainda mais rara. Os autores descrevem dois casos de perfuração do trato gastrointestinal por espinha de peixe com formação de abcesso hepático, pertencentes a grupos etários distintos e com diferente apresentação clínica, embora ambos tenham desenvolvido choque séptico. A ausência de história de ingestão de corpo estranho, a inespecificidade dos resultados dos exames complementares e das manifestações clínicas contribuem para um atraso no diagnóstico e, também por isso, influenciam o próprio prognóstico. ABSTRACT Although foreign body ingestion is a common occurrence, perforation and penetration of the gastrointestinal tract is unusual and the development of a hepatic abscess is even more rare. The authors describe two cases of fish bone perforation of the gastrointestinal tract with hepatic perforation and abscess formation, from distinctive age groups and varying presentation, although both developed septic shock. The lack of history of ingestion of foreign bodies, non-specificity of both clinical presentation and complementary examinations all play a role in delaying the diagnosis and therefore in the prognosis itself.

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