The results of a survey of newly planted trees of eleven cities in the North of England are presented. The composition of the tree populations of these towns is seen to be dominated by a few species. The potential for growth is high, yet the average levels of shoot extension are remarkably poor. High levels of tree death are found in some towns. Water and nutrient stress are highlighted as major causes of the poor condition of urban trees. Vandalism and other causes of physical damage are much less important. It is argued from the evidence that much of the trouble must be attributed to the way techniques of planting and maintenance are applied in practice, rather than to any inherent problems of sites or trees in general.

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The National Children's Study (NCS) Archive was created as a repository of samples, data, and information from the NCS Vanguard Study—a longitudinal pregnancy and birth cohort evaluating approaches to study influence of environmental exposures on child health and development—to provide qualified researchers with access to NCS materials for use in secondary research. The National Children's Study Archive (NCSA) model is a 3-tiered access model designed to make the wealth of information and materials gathered during the NCS Vanguard Study available at a user appropriate level. The NCSA model was developed as a 3-tier framework, for users of varying access levels, providing intuitive data exploration and visualization tools, an end-to-end data and sample request management system, and a restricted portal for participant-level data access with a team of experts available to assist users. This platform provides a model to accelerate transformation of information and materials from existing studies into new scientific discoveries.Trial Registration:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00852904 (first posted February 27, 2009).