A global analysis of the comparability of winter chill models for fruit and nut trees

Many fruit and nut trees must fulfill a chilling requirement to break their winter dormancy and resume normal growth in spring. Several models exist for quantifying winter chill, and growers and researchers often tacitly assume that the choice of model is not important and estimates of species chilling requirements are valid across growing regions. To test this assumption, Safe Winter Chill (the amount of winter chill that is exceeded in 90% of years) was calculated for 5,078 weather stations around the world, using the Dynamic Model [in Chill Portions (CP)], the Chilling Hours (CH) Model and the Utah Model [Utah Chill Units (UCU)]. Distributions of the ratios between different winter chill metrics were mapped on a global scale. These ratios should be constant if the models were strictly proportional. Ratios between winter chill metrics varied substantially, with the CH/CP ratio ranging between 0 and 34, the UCU/CP ratio between −155 and +20 and the UCU/CH ratio between −10 and +5. The models are thus not proportional, and chilling requirements determined in a given location may not be valid elsewhere. The Utah Model produced negative winter chill totals in many Subtropical regions, where it does not seem to be useful. Mean annual temperature and daily temperature range influenced all winter chill ratios, but explained only between 12 and 27% of the variation. Data on chilling requirements should always be amended with information on the location and experimental conditions of the study in which they were determined, ideally including site-specific conversion factors between winter chill models. This would greatly facilitate the transfer of such information across growing regions, and help prepare growers for the impact of climate change

An international review of tobacco smoking in the medical profession: 1974–2004

Background\ud Tobacco smoking by physicians represents a contentious issue in public health, and regardless of what country it originates from, the need for accurate, historical data is paramount. As such, this article provides an international comparison of all modern literature describing the tobacco smoking habits of contemporary physicians.\ud \ud Methods\ud A keyword search of appropriate MeSH terms was initially undertaken to identify relevant material, after which the reference lists of manuscripts were also examined to locate further publications.\ud \ud Results\ud A total of 81 English-language studies published in the past 30 years met the inclusion criteria. Two distinct trends were evident. Firstly, most developed countries have shown a steady decline in physicians' smoking rates during recent years. On the other hand, physicians in some developed countries and newly-developing regions still appear to be smoking at high rates. The lowest smoking prevalence rates were consistently documented in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Comparison with other health professionals suggests that fewer physicians smoke when compared to nurses, and sometimes less often than dentists.\ud \ud Conclusion\ud Overall, this review suggests that while physicians' smoking habits appear to vary from region to region, they are not uniformly low when viewed from an international perspective. It is important that smoking in the medical profession declines in future years, so that physicians can remain at the forefront of anti-smoking programs and lead the way as public health exemplars in the 21st century

Assessing fidelity of delivery of smoking cessation behavioural support in practice.

Effectiveness of evidence-based behaviour change interventions is likely to be undermined by failure to deliver interventions as planned. Behavioural support for smoking cessation can be a highly cost-effective, life-saving intervention. However, in practice, outcomes are highly variable. Part of this may be due to variability in fidelity of intervention implementation. To date, there have been no published studies on this. The present study aimed to: evaluate a method for assessing fidelity of behavioural support; assess fidelity of delivery in two English Stop-Smoking Services; and compare the extent of fidelity according to session types, duration, individual practitioners, and component behaviour change techniques (BCTs)

Alternative eucalypt species for Zululand: seven year results of site: species interaction trials in the region

The ICFR initiated a search for alternative eucalypt species for the Zululand Coastal Plain region during 1992 by establishing a series of site: species interaction trials in the area. Sixteen pure species (seedlings), one E. grandis intra-specific clone and five inter-specific hybrid (E. grandis x either camaldulensis or urophylla) commercial clones were planted at three sites ranging in climatic condition from warm and wet in the south to hot and dry in the north. Final measurements, assessments and wood-sampling for pulping properties was carried out during 1999. These results together with relevant recommendations are discussed in this paper. On a growth, disease-resistance and pulpwood-quality basis, the top performing pure species at the southern (highly productive) site at Terranera were E. longirostrata and E. pilularis, and on the drier, more marginal sites at Teza and False Bay, E. henryi, E. citriodora, E. longirostrata and E. tereticornis gave impressive results. Southern African Forestry Journal No.190 2001: 79-8

Investigating the environmental adaptability of promising subtropical and cold-tolerant eucalypt species in the warm temperate climate zone of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

During 2001, a series of four site-species interaction trials was established by the ICFR(Institute for Commercial Forestry Research) in the warm temperate climate zone of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (mean annual temperature (MAT) range (16–19°C), to investigate the relative growth performances of a range of promising new eucalypt species. Trees were assessed for frost sensitivity at 15 months, and height and basal area at 48 months. Eucalyptus longirostrata, E. pilularis, Corymbia citriodora subsp. citriodora, C. henryi and C. maculata, species that performed well in forerunner ICFR coastal Zululand site-species trials (MAT range 21.7–21.9°C), generally showed poor adaptation to the cooler, inland conditions. Bacterial blight(Pantoea ananatis) impeded early growth in members of Eucalyptus subseries Punctatosae (E. punctata, E. biturbinata and E. longirostrata) and E. urophylla at the two coolest sites, Rooipoort (15.7°C MAT)and Rockvale (16.3°C MAT). The cold-tolerant eucalypts E. badjensis and E. smithii averaged good growth across sites, but showed susceptibility to Phytophthora root-rot disease where MAT exceeded 17.0°C. The planting of either species for commercial purpose under similar conditions in the warm temperate zone would likely carry with it a substantial risk. Eucalyptus benthamii and E. dorrigoensis, species that performed well in earlier ICFR high-altitude site-species trials(MAT range 14.2–15.5°C), showed excellent adaptation to the KwaZulu-Natal warm temperate conditions. These two species, as well as E. oreades (the third best-performing new species), appear good candidate replacement species for the commercial controls in the region, namely E. grandis, E. dunnii, E. smithii and E. macarthurii.Southern Hemisphere Forestry Journal 2007, 69(1): 27–3

Cold tolerant Eucalypts in South Africa - growth information for informed site-species matching: technical note

Site-species matching is very important in managing the various limiting site and climatic factors in the more temperate forestry areas in South Africa. Information has been gathered from ICFR site-species interaction trials and provenance / progeny trials and summarised into a format which should make the siting of species on low productivity sites a more informed process, and will ultimately assist the forest industry in achieving optimum growth performance on all sites, with the least risk of crop failure. Key Words: Eucalyptus species; High altitude; Low productivity; Site-species interaction Southern African Forestry Journal Issue 202 2004: 83-8

How did public services fare? A review of Australian state public service labour markets during the global financial crisis

Public employment was traditionally seen as a ‘good job’, and governments were seen as ‘model’ employers. That reputation has faded in recent years due to factors including public management reforms that changed traditional public service employment. This research considers how the Australian public service labour market fared compared to the private sector during the global financial crisis. The research compares public and private sector outcomes in Australian states, focusing on two indicators of the size of the public service and wage outcomes. It finds that the global financial crisis did not enhance job prospects or conditions in Australian state public services, and potentially further detracted from public perceptions of governments as ‘model’ employers and the desirability of public service jobs. The crisis also highlighted the institutional tensions and complexities of the contemporary public employment environment