Ancient Urban Ecology Reconstructed from Archaeozoological Remains of Small Mammals in the Near East

Acknowledgments We especially thank the many archaeologists who collaborated closely with our project and invested pioneering efforts in intensive fine-scale retrieval of the archaeozoological samples that provided the basis for this study: Shai Bar, Amnon Ben-Tor, Amit Dagan, Yosef Garfinkel, Ayelet Gilboa, Zvi Greenhut, Amihai Mazar, Stefan Munger, Ronny Reich, Itzhaq Shai, Ilan Sharon, Joe Uziel, Sharon Zuckerman, and additional key excavation personnel who were instrumental in collection of the samples or in assisting the work including: Shimrit Bechar, Jacob Dunn, Norma Franklin, Egon Lass and Yiftah Shalev. Funding:The research was funded by a post-doctoral grant awarded to L.W. from the European Research Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007e2013)/ERC grant agreement number 229418. The laboratory work was also supported by funding by the Israel Science Foundation (Grant 52/10). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Intrapartum Antibiotic Chemoprophylaxis Policies for the Prevention of Group B Streptococcal Disease Worldwide: Systematic Review.

Background: Intrapartum antibiotic chemoprophylaxis (IAP) prevents most early-onset group B streptococcal (GBS) disease. However, there is no description of how IAP is used around the world. This article is the sixth in a series estimating the burden of GBS disease. Here we aimed to review GBS screening policies and IAP implementation worldwide. Methods: We identified data through (1) systematic literature reviews (PubMed/Medline, Embase, Literature in the Health Sciences in Latin America and the Caribbean [LILACS], World Health Organization library database [WHOLIS], and Scopus) and unpublished data from professional societies and (2) an online survey and searches of policies from medical societies and professionals. We included data on whether an IAP policy was in use, and if so whether it was based on microbiological or clinical risk factors and how these were applied, as well as the estimated coverage (percentage of women receiving IAP where indicated). Results: We received policy information from 95 of 195 (49%) countries. Of these, 60 of 95 (63%) had an IAP policy; 35 of 60 (58%) used microbiological screening, 25 of 60 (42%) used clinical risk factors. Two of 15 (13%) low-income, 4 of 16 (25%) lower-middle-income, 14 of 20 (70%) upper-middle-income, and 40 of 44 (91%) high-income countries had any IAP policy. The remaining 35 of 95 (37%) had no national policy (25/33 from low-income and lower-middle-income countries). Coverage varied considerably; for microbiological screening, median coverage was 80% (range, 20%-95%); for clinical risk factor-based screening, coverage was 29% (range, 10%-50%). Although there were differences in the microbiological screening methods employed, the individual clinical risk factors used were similar. Conclusions: There is considerable heterogeneity in IAP screening policies and coverage worldwide. Alternative global strategies, such as maternal vaccination, are needed to enhance the scope of global prevention of GBS disease

Correspondence analysis of taxonomic composition in assemblages from urban and rural sites.

<p>Analysis is based on the frequency data in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0091795#pone-0091795-t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a>. (A) Comparison of assemblages from urban (green triangles), rural (orange diamonds), and unclassified (asterisks) contexts. (B) Comparison of urban and proxy assemblages (purple squares).</p

Location map of the study sites in relation to climate and topography.

<p>Location map of the study sites in relation to climate and topography.</p

Rarefaction analysis of urban and rural assemblages.

<p>Data used for this analysis excludes taxa that are rare in the urban assemblages and indicate abandonment/intrusion (<i>Meriones</i>, <i>Microtus</i>, <i>Spalax</i>, <i>Gerbillus</i>). NISP is the number of identified specimens.</p

Contrast between a large-scale mound site and a single-period small-scale settlement.

<p>Tel Megiddo has a history of thousands of years of dense urban occupation (above; photographed by Skyview and the Megiddo Expedition) whereas Khirbet ed-Dawwara is a single-period small-scale settlement with shallow accumulation above the natural hill topography (below; photographed by I. Finkelstein). The original rocky surface of Khirbet ed-Dawara can be glimpsed in the excavation area only slightly below the present-day surface and in the surrounding hilly landscape. This site is a fortified rural settlement situated in the Jerusalem area and dated to the Iron Age IIA period at the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE.</p

Taxonomic incidence and sample sizes across the study sites.

<p>*For site names see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0091795#pone.0091795.s003" target="_blank">Table S1</a>.</p

Taxonomic frequencies based on NISP data, focusing on samples from discrete occupational phases in urban and rural sites and three proxy assemblages.

<p>*For site names see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0091795#pone.0091795.s003" target="_blank">Table S1</a>.</p

Observed and expected taxonomic richness (number of taxa) in urban and rural sites.

<p>Expected richness is based on modern distributions of species modeled with GIS. Distribution map of taxonomic richness for the taxa included in this study, based on maps in Mendelssohn and Yom-Tov <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0091795#pone.0091795-Mendelssohn2" target="_blank">[62]</a> is shown on right. Darker shades in the map indicate higher numbers of taxa.</p