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We owe a debt of gratitude to our Ethiopian colleagues and field assistants who have participated in ETAP research at Mezber since 2007. In particular, we acknowledge Medhin Abate, the owner of the land upon which Mezber sits, and our many excavation assistants from the villages surrounding the site. We are grateful to Shannon Wood who completed site mapping, figures and participated in excavations, and Pamela Wadge who conducted flotation and preliminary archaeobotanical studies. Tesfay Gebremariam provided assistance with flotation. We thank Michael Tofollo for completing an initial analysis of Mezber phytoliths. Additional Mezber team members included Helina Woldekiros, Lynn Welton, Stephen Batuik, Steven Brandt, Andrea Manzo, Laurie Nixon-Darcus, Elizabeth Peterson, Michela Gaudiello, Aman Mohammed, Hagos Hailat and Stefano Biagetti. We thank the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) and the Tigrai Bureau of Culture and Tourism (TBCT) for permission to excavate at Mezber, especially Kebede Amare and Dr. Yonas Beyene. We greatly appreciate the participation of ARCCH and TBCT Representatives including Habtamu Mekonnen, Abebe Mengistu, Endashash Awate and Giday Gebregziabhir. ETAP archaeobotanical investigations at Mezber were financially supported by two major grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), including Standard Research Grants 410-2007-2472 and 410-2011-1646. Further support was obtained from a SSHRC/SFU Institutional Grant from Simon Fraser University. The work of CL and ARG was supported by the "RAINDROPS" Project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon 2020 framework (ERC-Stg 759800). This repository contains the results datasets of the article Pre-Aksumite Plant Husbandry in the Horn of Africa published by the journal Vegetation History and Archaeobotany.

Understanding the causes and consequences of population phenotypic divergence is a central goal in ecology and evolution. Phenotypic divergence among populations can result from genetic divergence, phenotypic plasticity or a combination of the two. However, few studies have deciphered these mechanisms for populations geographically close and connected by gene flow, especially in the case of personality traits. In this study, we used a common garden experiment to explore the genetic basis of the phenotypic divergence observed between two blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) populations inhabiting contrasting habitats separated by 25 km, for two personality traits (exploration speed and handling aggression), one physiological trait (heart rate during restraint) and two morphological traits (tarsus length and body mass). Blue tit nestlings were removed from their population and raised in a common garden for up to five years. We then compared adult phenotypes between the two populations, as well as trait-specific Qst and Fst . Our results revealed differences between populations similar to those found in the wild, suggesting a genetic divergence for all traits. Qst - Fst comparisons revealed that the traits divergences likely result from dissimilar selection patterns rather than from genetic drift. Our study is one of the first to report a Qst - Fst comparison for personality traits and adds to the growing body of evidence that population genetic divergence is possible at a small scale for a variety of traits including behavioural traits. Data filesArchive.zip

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Abstract Background Behavioural and structural factors related to sex work, place female sex workers (FSWs) at high risk of maternal mortality and morbidity (MMM), with a large portion due to unintended pregnancies and abortions. In the African context where MMM is the highest in the world, understanding the frequency and determinants of pregnancy and abortion among FSWs is important in order to meet their sexual and reproductive health needs. Methods Data from two Beninese cross-sectional surveys among FSWs aged 18+ (2013, N = 450; 2016, N = 504) were merged. We first performed exploratory univariate analyses to identify factors associated with pregnancy and abortion (p

Abstract HostSeq was launched in April 2020 as a national initiative to integrate whole genome sequencing data from 10,000 Canadians infected with SARS-CoV-2 with clinical information related to their disease experience. The mandate of HostSeq is to support the Canadian and international research communities in their efforts to understand the risk factors for disease and associated health outcomes and support the development of interventions such as vaccines and therapeutics. HostSeq is a collaboration among 13 independent epidemiological studies of SARS-CoV-2 across five provinces in Canada. Aggregated data collected by HostSeq are made available to the public through two data portals: a phenotype portal showing summaries of major variables and their distributions, and a variant search portal enabling queries in a genomic region. Individual-level data is available to the global research community for health research through a Data Access Agreement and Data Access Compliance Office approval. Here we provide an overview of the collective project design along with summary level information for HostSeq. We highlight several statistical considerations for researchers using the HostSeq platform regarding data aggregation, sampling mechanism, covariate adjustment, and X chromosome analysis. In addition to serving as a rich data source, the diversity of study designs, sample sizes, and research objectives among the participating studies provides unique opportunities for the research community.

Simulation of a black-hole binary system evolved by the SpEC code.

Additional file 14.