Acute exposure to ionizing radiation has well-documented, immediate negative consequences for individuals. However, the evolutionary consequences for populations exposed to ionizing radiation is unclear. For example, a meta-analysis of taxa exposed to Chernobyl fallout found some evidence for elevated mutation rates in animal and plant taxa; however, in people, de novo mutation rates in offspring of parents exposed to radiation during and after the Chernobyl accident were no higher than controls. Furthermore, whether irradiation and increased mutation rates drive adaptation to radiation also has mixed support. Ambiguity in both cases likely arises from the difficulty of studying mutation rates and adaptation after rare nuclear events whose ionizing radiation is distributed heterogeneously in time and space. Here, we report an attempt to better address this difficulty with a “resurrection ecology” study of Daphnia spp . in Utah lakes that experienced nuclear fallout from US Department of Energy weapons testing in the 1950s and 1960s. The idea was to recover dormant Daphnia eggs from sediment cores that spanned the nuclear testing era in the American West. We predicted that survival and fecundity of eggs hatched in the lab would show fitness declines correlated with ionizing radiation fallout and a potential recovery once nuclear testing stopped. We successfully obtained multiple cores from three lakes that dated back to the 1800s. We isolated >4700 dormant eggs from those cores, spanning the nuclear era, but were only able to hatch a single egg in the lab. Thus, we could not conduct life history experiments to test our prediction. The purpose of this manuscript, therefore, is to describe the study and make our radioisotope core dating and sedimentation data available to other paleolimnological researchers. We also report a side study of stable isotope change through time measured from dormant eggs and the sediment.

Paleoecology attempts to reconstruct history through geochemical isotopic studies, trace fossil analyses, examination of microbe communities, and the presence or lack of microfossils. Ancient lakes are useful for reconstructing paleoecology because they accumulate sediment through time. Paleobotanical microfossils, including diatoms and phytoliths, allow inference of vegetation, pH, salinity, water chemistry, and environmental temperature, among others. Here, we propose a protocol split into two sections to prepare slides and count diatoms and phytoliths along transects. Researchers can develop an ecological history by analyzing microfossils from different locations and times. As an example, we apply this method to study the palaeobotanical microfossils of an 820 cm deep stratigraphy, composed of 10.3my Miocene diatomite, from a high-elevation desert paleolake in Northern Nevada (Fernley District). The preliminary results hint at a complex climatic and environmental variance. Another application of this method includes the development of environmental interpretations and hypotheses regarding the future of modern vegetation.

Phytoliths are opal silica particles formed within plant tissues. Diatoms are aquatic, single-celled photosynthetic algae with silica skeletons. Phytolith and diatom morphotypes vary depending on local environmental and climatic conditions and because their silicate structures preserve well, the study of phytolith and diatom morphotypes can be used to better understand paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental dynamics and changes. This article presents original data from an 820cm-deep stratigraphy excavated at the Hazen diatomite deposits, a high-elevation desert paleolake in the Fernley District, Northern Nevada, USA. The site has been studied for an assemblage of fossilized threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus doryssus, that reveal adaptive evolution. For this study, a total of 157 samples were extracted at 20 cm intervals covering approximately 24,500 years. After extraction, the samples were mounted on slides and viewed under 400-1000x light microscopy, enabling classification of 14 phytolith and 45 diatom morphotypes. Our data support paleoenvironmental reconstructions of the Hazen Miocene paleolake.

Palaeobotanical microfossil analyses are often used to reconstruct palaeoecological histories and past environmental change. To do so, many researchers use lake sediment, for which chronological ordering of stratigraphical layers is possible. Lakes accumulate microfossils including pollen, starch grains, diatoms and phytoliths. Diatom and phytolith assemblages allow inference of vegetation, pH, salinity, water chemistry, and environmental temperature, among others. As an example, we employ this method to study the correlation between palaeobotanical microfossils and desert lake history from Nevada. The preliminary results hint at a complex climatic and environmental variance. Here we propose a protocol split into seven sections to isolate diatoms and phytoliths. By following the protocol, one can prepare samples for microfossil identification and interpretation. Researchers can develop an ecological history by analyzing microfossils from different locations and times. A case study is included from a Miocene diatomite deposit paleolake from Northern Nevada. The method resulted in the extraction and isolation of Miocene microfossils dated to approximately 10.3 Mya including phytoliths and diatoms. Another application of this method includes the development of environmental interpretations and hypotheses regarding the future of modern vegetation.

In the early 1990s, New York City, along with many other jurisdictions across the United States, were faced with burgeoning crime and a deteriorating quality of life, while the New York City Police Department (NYPD) simultaneously suffered from a lack of accountability and an opaque mission. In response to these challenges, the NYPD, then led by Police Commissioner William Bratton and assisted by his key strategist, Jack Maple, developed CompStat. CompStat, short for Computer Statistics, allowed the NYPD to geographically examine crime trends, define the agency’s mission with precision (i.e., to reduce violent crime), and hold middle-managers accountable for achieving this mission. Shortly after the NYPD’s introduction of CompStat, CompStat was quickly recognized as an effective tool in increasing a shared understanding of the police department’s mission, tactics to decrease violent crime, and promoting accountability within the police hierarchical management structure. This recognition resulted in rapid adoption of CompStat within the field of policing, to define and strive to achieve public safety goals and create an environment of middle-manager responsibility. CompStat also quickly began to serve as a model for performance management and accountability within criminal justice (e.g., within community supervision) and across the domain of government more broadly (e.g., across a municipality in CitiStat and other similar initiatives). CompStat continues to serve as one of the most commonly applied performance management platforms in policing with countless adoptions. CompStat, however, is not without criticisms and challenges. This multifaceted approach is reflected in the CompStat literature as well as in this bibliography. Sources of information pertain to CompStat’s General Overviews, Development, Theory, Applications, Commentary, Organization, Community Policing, Adoptions, and Future Directions. This bibliography provides context and references, in this order, related to CompStat.

Police spend an inordinate amount of time responding to 911 calls for service. While most of these calls are unrelated to crimes in progress, police often respond with the tool that is most familiar and expedient to them: enforcement. This exhausts police resources and exposes countless people to avoidable criminal justice system contacts. There is a pressing need for data-informed strategies to identify 911 calls that present a true public safety emergency and require an immediate police response, while responding to other calls in ways that do not tax limited policing resources and promote better outcomes for the people involved and the communities where they reside. This report summarizes the current state of 911 research, discusses the problems and potential of current 911 data collection practices, and recommends steps that law enforcement and emergency communications professionals can take to conserve resources and help ensure that the right response reaches the right caller at the right time.