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Short-rotation forestry (SRF) systems provide sustaining resource supply that is needed to meet the rapidly increasing demand in wood products and renewable energy. Poplar species (Populus spp.) are frequently used for such plantations as they maintain high yield along wide environmental ranges. Specifically aspen (Populus tremula and P. tremuloides) reach considerable productivity even on poor soils and exhibit relatively high drought tolerance when compared to other taxa of the genus. However, the use of aspen in SRF systems is not well established. The aim of this st...

Der Beitrag gibt einen Einblick in die Alltagsarbeit der Markt- und Meinungsforschung, um daraus einige Handlungsanleitungen zum Umgang mit Ergebnissen der Demoskopie abzuleiten. Hauptfokus ist die kritische Auseinandersetzung mit der Markt- und Meinungsforschung als inszenierte Möglichkeit der politischen Partizipation oder der Verwendung durch die politische Seite als "Pseudo-Plebiszit". Der Text thematisiert folgende Fragen: (1) Wie sieht der Alltag in der Markt- und Meinungsforschung aus? Wie ist der Umgang mit Medien? Was ist die Demoskopie überhaupt im Stande zu leisten? (2) Wie geht man mit Ergebnissen der Markt- und Meinungsforschung um? Worauf ist dabei zu achten? (3) Wie wirken Ergebnissen der Markt- und Meinungsforschung in der Öffentlichkeit? Werden die Möglichkeiten der Markt- und Meinungsforschung überschätzt? Die Ausführungen zeigen, dass die Einflussmöglichkeiten publizierter Meinungsforschungsergebnisse zumeist überschätzt werden. Nur ein geringer Anteil der Wähler lässt sich unmittelbar von Umfrageergebnissen beeinflussen, da ein Drittel der potentieller Wähler keine Zeitungen lesen, ein weiteres Drittel mäßig und nur das letzte Drittel gut bis sehr gut informiert ist. Die gut Informierten sind jedoch durch "Prognosen" nicht sonderlich zu beeindrucken. (ICA2)

'2004 fanden in Österreich mehrere Wahlen statt, die einige machtpolitische Veränderungen ergaben. Der Beitrag befasst sich mit den Ergebnissen der Landtagswahlen in Kärnten, Salzburg und Vorarlberg, der Bundespräsidentschaftswahl und der Wahl zum Europäischen Parlament. Forschungsfragen sind die Veränderungen im Wahlverhalten, zentrale Wahlmotive, die Bedeutung der Parteien bzw. ihrer KandidatInnen und die Gründe der niedrigen Wahlbeteiligung. Schließlich werden das Phänomen der ehemaligen FPÖ-WählerInnen, der Erfolg der Liste Hans-Peter Martin sowie die Perspektiven für die einzelnen Parteien bzw. mögliche Koalitionsbildungen analysiert.' (Autorenreferat)

INTRODUCTION: Treatment for smoking cessation is an important part of tobacco control and has been promoted within the Chinese health service for many years. The aim of this study was to assess the current status of smoking cessation treatment provision within the Chinese health service. METHODS: A nationwide survey, sponsored by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, assessed smoking cessation activities in all 31 Provincial Health and Family Planning Commissions (PHFPCs) in China. Within the 31 provinces, 366 hospitals and primary care centers running smoking cessation clinics provided details of their activities. RESULTS: Findings show that all PHFPCs took steps to promote smoking cessation, such as by conducting inspections and supervising local cessation clinics. Specifically, among the 366 health institutions,73% were based in general hospitals, with smoking cessation clinics predominantly located in respiratory departments. Furthermore, only 43% provided smoking cessation medications. CONCLUSIONS: This was the first nationwide survey of smoking cessation support available to smokers in China. It provides the most comprehensive picture of the treatment arm of smoking cessation activities so far. The Chinese government has taken measures to support smoking cessation, however, further efforts are needed to address the imbalanced distribution of resources and the limited availability of medications. On-going monitoring of barriers and facilitators affecting treatment provision is needed, as well as an understanding of the importance of each hospital focusing on working priorities specific to their needs. This survey could be a reference for other countries starting to promote smoking cessation.

AIMS: To assess the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of, and users' reactions to, Juul (59 mg nicotine/ml) as an indication of its therapeutic and dependence potential. DESIGN: Cross‐over, within‐subjects study in which participants attended after overnight abstinence on separate sessions and smoked a cigarette or used Juul or eight other types of e‐cigarettes (EC) ad libitum for 5 minutes. The Juul product used was the version available in the United States that has more nicotine in the e‐liquid than the one available in the European Union. SETTING: Laboratory setting in the United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty dual users (smokers who also vape) provided data on Juul and cigarettes, with eight also providing data on other EC products. MEASUREMENTS: At each session, number of puffs taken was counted during the 5‐minute product use period and blood samples were taken at baseline and at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 30 minutes after starting smoking/vaping and analysed for nicotine. Participants also monitored their urges to smoke and rated the products on a range of characteristics. FINDINGS: Juul's PK profile was close to the PK profile of cigarettes [maximum concentration (C(max)) = 20.4 versus 19.2 ng/ml; time to maximum concentration (T(max)) = 4 versus 6 minutes; area under the curve (AUC): 307.9 versus 312.6, respectively]. Compared with other EC products, Juul had shorter T(max) [4 minutes, (IQR = 2.5–4.0) versus 6.3 minutes, (IQR = 4.7 – 8.1), P = 0.012] and higher C(max) (28.9 (SD = 15.6) versus 10.6 (SD = 5.5), P = 0.013) despite a lower number of puffs (12.5 (SD = 4.2) versus 17.0 (SD = 4.2), P = 0.084). Compared with other e‐cigarette products, it also provided faster reduction of urges to smoke and obtained more favourable subjective ratings. CONCLUSION: Juul's PK profile and user ratings suggest that it could be more effective than other EC products in helping smokers to quit smoking, but it may also have a higher potential to generate regular use in non‐smokers.

BACKGROUND: A number of treatments can help smokers make a successful quit attempt, but many initially successful quitters relapse over time. Several interventions have been proposed to help prevent relapse. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether specific interventions for relapse prevention reduce the proportion of recent quitters who return to smoking. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group trials register, clinicaltrials.gov, and the ICTRP in February 2018 for studies mentioning relapse prevention or maintenance in their title, abstracts, or keywords. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised or quasi‐randomised controlled trials of relapse prevention interventions with a minimum follow‐up of six months. We included smokers who quit on their own, were undergoing enforced abstinence, or were participating in treatment programmes. We included studies that compared relapse prevention interventions with a no intervention control, or that compared a cessation programme with additional relapse prevention components with a cessation programme alone. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. MAIN RESULTS: We included 77 studies (67,285 participants), 15 of which are new to this update. We judged 21 studies to be at high risk of bias, 51 to be at unclear risk of bias, and five studies to be at low risk of bias. Forty‐eight studies included abstainers, and 29 studies helped people to quit and then tested treatments to prevent relapse. Twenty‐six studies focused on special populations who were abstinent because of pregnancy (18 studies), hospital admission (five studies), or military service (three studies). Most studies used behavioural interventions that tried to teach people skills to cope with the urge to smoke, or followed up with additional support. Some studies tested extended pharmacotherapy. We focused on results from those studies that randomised abstainers, as these are the best test of relapse prevention interventions. Of the 12 analyses we conducted ...

BACKGROUND: A number of treatments can help smokers make a successful quit attempt, but many initially successful quitters relapse over time. Several interventions have been proposed to help prevent relapse. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether specific interventions for relapse prevention reduce the proportion of recent quitters who return to smoking. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group trials register, clinicaltrials.gov, and the ICTRP in May 2019 for studies mentioning relapse prevention or maintenance in their title, abstracts, or keywords. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised or quasi‐randomised controlled trials of relapse prevention interventions with a minimum follow‐up of six months. We included smokers who quit on their own, were undergoing enforced abstinence, or were participating in treatment programmes. We included studies that compared relapse prevention interventions with a no intervention control, or that compared a cessation programme with additional relapse prevention components with a cessation programme alone. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. MAIN RESULTS: We included 81 studies (69,094 participants), five of which are new to this update. We judged 22 studies to be at high risk of bias, 53 to be at unclear risk of bias, and six studies to be at low risk of bias. Fifty studies included abstainers, and 30 studies helped people to quit and then tested treatments to prevent relapse. Twenty‐eight studies focused on special populations who were abstinent because of pregnancy (19 studies), hospital admission (six studies), or military service (three studies). Most studies used behavioural interventions that tried to teach people skills to cope with the urge to smoke, or followed up with additional support. Some studies tested extended pharmacotherapy. We focused on results from those studies that randomised abstainers, as these are the best test of relapse prevention interventions. Of the 12 analyses we conducted in ...