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S 4: Averaged data is displayed for plant response parameters for Cultivar Y: Plant height (HT), Relative Growth Rate (RGR) is the average change in basal stem diameter per month over the length of the experiment, Basal Stem diameter (BS), seed capsule numbers (Mean Caps). Results from a Tukey Comparison of means at the 95.0% confidence level are displayed in the columns next to the parameter value, means that do not share a letter are significantly different. Plant growth parameters are those measured at the end of the experiment. SC = soil code. Parameters values are listed from the highest to lowest inn each column with the relevant soil code listed alongside.

In 1957/58 the British Government conducted a series of nuclear tests in the mid-Pacific codenamed Operation Grapple, which involved several naval vessels from Britain and New Zealand. Two New Zealand frigates with 551 personnel onboard were stationed at various distances between 20 and 150 nautical miles from ground zero. In the present study we applied the cytomolecular technique mFISH (multicolour fluorescent in situ hybridisation) to investigate a potential link between chromosome abnormalities and possible past radiation exposure in New Zealand nuclear test veterans who participated in Operation Grapple. Compared to age matched controls, the veterans showed significantly higher (P < 0.0001) frequencies of chromosomal abnormalities (275 translocations and 12 dicentrics in 9,360 cells vs. 96 translocations and 1 dicentric in 9,548 cells in the controls), in addition to a significant excess of CCRs (complex chromosomal rearrangements) in the veterans. A Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test showed that the distributions of translocations for the two groups were significantly different.

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Leptospermum scoparium (Mānuka) is the source of nectar for Unique Mānuka Factor (UMF) honey. The chemical component of interest to this study is dihydroxyacetone (DHA). DHA is the precursor for the chemical methylglyoxyl which is the main chemical responsible for the UMF activity in Manuka honey. Screening commercially bred plants for increased DHA synthesis in L. scoparium is a critical factor in growing the Manuka Honey industry in New Zealand. FT‐Raman spectroscopy, in combination with principal component analysis and partial least squares regression analysis, was investigated as an analytical tool for building a screening model for DHA in the nectar of L. scoparium. Leaf samples of seven cultivars of the species L. scoparium were collected in an attempt to correlate metabolic factors in the plant with DHA synthesis in the nectar. Leaf material was analysed using Fourier transform‐raman spectroscopy (FT‐Raman). The DHA levels in nectar samples of the same cultivars were measured using standard LC‐MS methods. This study showed that the application of multivariate analysis of FT‐Raman spectra from leaf material is a useful tool to screen for DHA potential in L. scoparium. The PLS regression shows that we can screen for DHA concentrations in the range of 3300–7600 mg/kg plus or minus 20% standard error and can distinguish low medium and high DHA synthesis in the group of plants studied. The model for predicting DHA concentrations is influenced by a significant contribution from the spectral variance due to beta‐carotene and other highly scattering compounds that are not directly correlated with UMF. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.