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Unlabelled: The reported study aimed to explore parents' perceptions of treatment withdrawal/withholding; their experience and their opinions. In-depth face-to-face interviews at 3 and 13 months after the baby's death were conducted with 108 parents of 62 babies from the East of Scotland. Of the parents, 56% (60/180) believed they had decided to stop treatment. A further 4/59 sets of parents subsequently wished they had taken responsibility. Only one parent who did decide felt guilt 3 months after the event. Parents identified two essential factors which minimise doubt: full and honest information and concrete evidence of a poor prognosis.Conclusion: The majority of parents wish to be active in decision making on behalf of their baby. Doing so does not appear to have adverse consequences. The pacing of events in the process of deciding and managing the dying is critical. Dissatisfaction is reduced if parents are given time and evidence to help them assimilate the reality at each stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the plant Athyrium distentifolium. Within the British Isles, Athyrium distentifolium is found only in Scotland from 455 m to over 1220 m a.s.l. on open screes with extended snow cover in the central and northern highlands. Growing in the same habitat, but found only at a few sites is A. distentifolium variety flexile. In Scotland. Athyrium distentifolium grows only in sites where snow lies for extended periods during the winter. Snow can lie on the fern beds from October until May or even June. Precipitation on Athyrium distentifolium snowbed vegetation in the period 1941-70 varied from 1600-3200mm in the west to 1200-1600mm in the east Grampians. Several authors reported the susceptibility of A. distentifolium to grazing. Red deer are present at all the sites. At Ben Alder 50 clumps of each taxon were scored in a traverse across the corrie to assess the percentage of whole clumps which had been eaten. Separate populations were identified at intervals of 30-200 m and the first five clumps encountered were scored. Grazing was very variable depending on the terrain.

A substantial proportion of the Abernethy Forest Reserve has Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) growing on the surfaces of a variety of mires. The hydrology of the mires has been affected by drainage and peat cutting but this area is unusual in having had a long period of protection from grazing by domestic stock. There are three main types of pine populations found on these mires. Woodland bog comprises predominantly bog vegetation with abundant pine seedlings due to the heavy seed rain from the surrounding woodland. Only a few very small trees survive, which are stunted, heavily diseased and have very low seed production. Wooded bog also comprises predominately bog vegetation but there are scattered mature trees of a moderate height with an open canopy. The trees are fertile and can form uneven aged stands with regeneration. Bog woodland is a predominantly woodland vegetation with tall, dense tree cover on deep peat. The trees are well grown with a dense canopy. A few remnants of bog vegetation remain in the ground flora although most have been replaced by woodland bryophytes and shrubs. Each of these three types is described and their development is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Experiments were conducted to determine the genetic relationship between the alpine fern Athyrium distentifolium and the Scottish endemic taxon A. distentifolium var. flexile. • Segregation of the taxa was studied after growing sporophytes from spore families, and after selfing and crossing gametophytes. The growth of both gametophytes and sporophytes was measured under a range of nutrient regimes. • The distinction between the two taxa is due to variation at a single gene with pleiotropic effects expressed at both the sporophyte and gametophyte stages. A. distentifolium sporophytes (genotypes A&supD;/A&supD; or A&supD;/A&supF; ) are taller, have fewer fronds, and produce fewer spores than A. distentifolium var. flexile sporophytes (genotype A&supF;/A&supF; ). Gametophytes containing the A F allele have a 50% higher growth rate than those with the A&supD; allele on a range of media. • The polymorphism may be maintained by a balance between selection for and against the A&supF; allele at the gametophyte and sporophyte stages of the life cycle, respectively. Implications for the conservation of the A. distentifolium var. flexile taxon are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective-To explore parents' perceptions of treatment withdrawal and the dying process. Design-Face to face interviews with 59 sets of parents of 62 babies in the East of Scotland three months and 13 months after death. Results-22% of the parents expressed reservations about the length of the dying process, which they reported in these instances had taken from three to 36 hours. Deaths that medical teams had predicted would be quick had, according to the parents' recollections, taken from 1.5 to 31 hours. When a baby died swiftly, this seemed to confirm the wisdom of the decision to stop. When babies lingered, doubts were raised. Conclusions-Parents need to be adequately prepared for what may happen after treatment withdrawal. The debate should be reopened about the best way to manage protracted deaths in line with parental need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the ecology and distribution of the alpine lady-fern, Athyrium distentifolium in Scotland. Taxonomy and distribution; Population dynamics; Habitat; Extreme weather resistance; Reproduction.

Reports on the research conducted in the Nursing Research Unit at the University of Edinburg in which an attempt has been made to examine both measurement issues and the components that explain coping. Major problems in studying coping; Two basic functions of coping behaviors; Attempts to assess coping; Conclusions.