Search

It is a difficult time to be a farmer, particularly in the midwestern US, where a slow-moving farm crisis has been brewing. In recent years farmers have faced multiple socioeconomic threats such as a trade war with China, industry consolidation, and decreasing farmgate prices, as well as multiple environmental threats, including flooding and drought. We analyze farmers' assessments of these concurrent risks and their relationship to stress and farm exit, through a mail survey of 210 soy and dairy farmers in Indiana. On average, environmental threats are perceived as less of a threat to farmers than to immediate socioeconomic threats such as the trade war and, more importantly, long-run economic issues such as price decline and consolidation. We find evidence that farm exit is largely determined by farmer identity, perspectives on the trade war, and stress. The ongoing trade war with China is a key source of stress for soybean farmers and federal payments from the Market Facilitation Program are unlikely to stem farm exit. Addressing the farm exit problem and mitigating the current farm crisis necessitates greater attention to how policies, indirectly lead to farm exit through stress. • We analyze farmers' decisions to exit farming. • Farm exit is largely driven by perceived stress. • Environmental shocks pose less of a threat to farmers than economic shocks. • Market Facilitation Program payments are unlikely to stem farm exit. • The US-China trade is a key source of stress for farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• Leaders of active and closed farm link services provide a critique of farm linking. • Monitoring medium-term outcomes is necessary for program success. Metrics provided. • However other services may be better strategies for programs with smaller budgets. • Larger institutions should create positions to assist with non-family farm transfers. • More states should replicate beginning farmer tax credit programs. The transition of farms and ranches to the next generation has generated considerable attention and concern. Over the past 30 years, public and private institutions across the U.S. have introduced policies and programs to help farms without identified family successors achieve successful transfers by connecting them with new farmers through "farm link" services. However, the effectiveness of these services is unclear and assessment is needed. This primarily qualitative study used interviews with program leaders and their responses to a questionnaire to assess the 30 active and closed farm link programs of the 12 states of the U.S. Midwest and Central Plains, resulting in a collection of best practice recommendations. Broadly, these programs target differing audiences and offer various services not limited to the function of linking farm/ranch owners with potential non-family successors. Most programs are located in NGO's (63%), with the others hosted by state departments of agriculture and land grant university extension systems. Program leaders agree that linking is needed to augment seekers' and owners' personal networks. They recommend that farm link services focus on medium-term outcomes, and provide a list of metrics. Program leaders also recommend other, complementary services to support and advance non-family transitions to new farmers, primarily: (1) state-level beginning farmer tax credits; (2) educating farm owners' advisors, such as lenders and tax preparers, about their clients' opportunities to transfer to an incoming farmer; (3) case management to facilitate transfers between unrelated parties; and (4) providing discussion spaces online and on social media to build farmer/rancher networks and relations between farm seekers and farm owners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Histiocytic Sarcoma is a rare malignant hematopoietic neoplasm that can present in extranodal sites including lymph nodes, skin, gastrointestinal tract, and the central nervous system. Only 10% of cases manifest as skin lesions and very few are reported in the head and neck. The authors report a case of histiocytic sarcoma of the eyelid in a 72-year-old male that was clinically diagnosed as a chalazion. Initial excision was not sent for routine histopathological assessment and the patient was subsequently lost to follow up. Recurrence occurred at the eyelid site and additional lesions were found on the forearms, abdomen, and right knee. Histopathological assessment of one of these other sites confirmed the diagnosis of histiocytic sarcoma. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of disseminated histiocytic sarcoma that originally presented in the ocular adnexa (eyelid). And, as the initial lesion was not sent to Pathology and therefore potentially missed, this case highlights the importance of submitting tissue, including chalazia, for pathologic evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited outdoor residential spaces and the cost of high-quality, sustainably grown vegetables have led families to engage in community gardening. The educational and recreational opportunities provided by community gardening make the settings an appealing location for families to learn and share leisure time together. We used a mixed-methods approach to investigate the impacts that gardening education workshops in community gardens can have on family members and their environmental behaviors. We used a case study approach to analyze the data from observations, drawings and interviews in which participants reported a variety of positive impacts from the gardening workshops including socializing, health benefits and acquired knowledge. However, there was limited evidence of pro-environmental behavior change beyond gardening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Every farming method, whether conventional or organic, has been associated with some sort of risky behaviors leading to health issues among farmers. Substantial evidence is not available in the literature to determine whether the magnitudes of health outcomes vary between conventional and organic farmers. The study investigated whether selfreported neurological and mental health symptoms differ between conventional and organic farmers living in Indiana, USA. Materials and method. A self-reported questionnaire survey collected information from 200 conventional and 157 organic farmers of Indiana on demographic characteristics, depression and neurological symptoms. Statistical analyses were conducted to observe the differences in self-reported symptoms by groups of farmers. Results. It was observed that the conventional farmers had significantly higher age-adjusted mean neurological symptom score (p<0.01) than the organic farmers. Regression models revealed positive and significant associations of conventional farming with total (β =1.34; p=0.02), sensory (β =0.83; p=0.001) and behavioural (β =0.09; p=0.03) symptoms after accounting for age, income, education and years in farming. Positive but non-significant associations were also observed in conventional farmers with cognitive and motor symptoms, and with all subscales of depression symptoms in the adjusted models. Conclusion. The findings obtained suggest the importance of a larger study to further explain the difference in mental and neurological health effects in these two categories of farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose A patient’s presentation and clinical diagnosis can at times be clouded by their past medical history. Clinicians’ anchoring bias towards initial information, such as a history of cancer, may lead them astray when creating a differential diagnosis for a patient who presents with new signs and symptoms of a mass lesion, assuming metastatic disease without seeking tissue confirmation. Methods The presentation, workup, diagnosis, and treatment of two patients who presented with orbital masses in the context of a primary prostate cancer are presented in this report. Results In both cases, prostate cancer metastasis to the orbit was top on the differential. Ultimately, histopathological examination of biopsies taken from the orbital masses revealed orbital lymphoma in both patients. Conclusion With mounting rates of patients who have survived a previous cancer, multiple primary cancers within one patient are becoming increasingly common. While prostate cancer metastasis to the orbit is a relatively rare event, orbital lymphoma is a more common diagnosis in orbital masses. Therefore, when patients present with orbital masses in the context of prostate cancer, the conclusion should not immediately be metastasis and a tissue diagnosis should be sought; especially given that the treatment of these entities is different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the case of an 11-year-old girl with a rare finding of silicone oil migration into the periorbital space surrounding an extraocular muscle, discovered during strabismus surgery for a sensory exotropia that had developed after retinal detachment repair by pars plana vitrectomy with intraocular silicone oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the United States, farms are consolidating and fewer individuals earn their sole income from agriculture. At the same time, the number of very small farms—many of which engage in direct-to-consumer sales strategies—is on the rise. While much research has explored issues of size and scale for farms transitioning to organic certification, this study aims to elucidate the variables that predict whether farmers sell directly to consumers or through indirect methods such as food hubs, wholesalers, schools, and other institutions. Using a mailed survey to West Virginian farmers, this research attempted to better understand the similarities and differences between farms that produce specialty crops and animal products geared for local distribution via direct- and non-direct-to-consumer method of distribution. The goal of this research was to highlight variables that may affect the scaling of operations to include distribution methods beyond direct-to-consumer. To this end, a postal survey was sent to a list of West Virginia farmers focused on local distribution: specialty crop and animal producers were the focus of our list development. A total of 219 participants responded to the survey (29.2% response rate). After cleaning the dataset for the current analysis, 190 surveys were deemed useable. Regression analysis of survey data found that farmers selling through only direct-to-consumer strategies were more concerned about how their farming practices affected the environment, the production of high quality foods, and health risks associated with chemical usage; they were also more willing to try new methods than their non-direct counterparts. Additionally, higher levels of economic dependence on items such as costs of credit, loan availability, etc. was also a significant variable in predicting distribution type. Finally, our results indicate that farmers who are distributing food through non-direct means are demographically distinct from their local-only counterparts on a number of measures, including, most critically: educational attainment (−), acres farmed (+), and length of family ownership (+). Taken together, these variables point to access to land and capital as determinants of scale and marketing strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic certification provides an opportunity for crop farmers to improve their viability and reduce the environmental impacts of commodity grain production, yet farmers have only transitioned to organic certification on less than five percent of US farmland. We focus on land tenure as a barrier to wider adoption of organic certification in the Midwest state of Indiana, where 50 % of farmland is rented. Addressing the lack of research on the relationship between tenant farmers and their non-operating landowners, we show how these relationships affect the adoption of conservation practices. Presenting findings from a survey and 30 in-depth interviews with conventional, transitioning, and organic farmers in Indiana, we show significant differences in land tenure arrangements for farmers certified and transitioning to organic compared to farmers only using conventional practices. We contextualize tenant-landlord relationship dynamics across the spectrum of practice adoption, illustrating how land tenure arrangements shape conservation management decision making. Our findings illustrate the barriers and opportunities to adoption of organic certification, given the variability in landowners' interest in organic certification. While conventional tenant farmers described long-term rental relationships characterized by a sense of trust, the high level of competition for access to rented farmland exerted pressure on them to conform to perceived norms about farming practices and avoid consideration of more risky and less socially acceptable or familiar conservation practices, for fear of losing their landlord's confidence and trust. • Land tenure constrains adoption of organic certification on rented land in Midwest. • Relationship between tenant farmers and non-operating landowners affects conservation. • Dynamics of land tenure shape conservation management decision making. • Competition for rented land constrains conservation adoption. • Norms about the appearance of crops constrains conservation adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periorbital infections after strabismus surgery are rare. We describe the first reported case of necrotizing group A streptococcal infection of the conjunctiva and Tenon's capsule complicating uneventful strabismus surgery in a 23-month-old boy, successfully managed with conservative intraoperative debridement and with targeted local and systemic antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, the amount of land protected by conservation easements dramatically increased between 2000 and 2010. As this mechanism for private land conservation continues to draw the attention of scientists, professionals, and policy makers, more information is needed on the landowner motivations and the variables affecting the placement of conservation easements. We surveyed landowners in the Midwest who had placed conservation easements on their properties in order to explore how nine various motive-values and exogenous variables, such as land characteristics and demographics, affected the decision to place conservation easements. The results suggested that those receiving monetary benefits from their land indicated were less likely to adopt a conservation easement without the accompanying financial incentives and did not share the same level of environmental motives as those receiving predominantly non-monetary benefits. In addition, absentee landowners appear less affected by financial incentives than those with permanent residences on or adjacent to the protected properties. Overall, our findings demonstrate the variation in motive-values of those receiving monetary vs. non-monetary benefits from their land, as well as highlight the differences in absentee vs. permanent landowners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Malignant melanoma of the conjunctiva is a relatively infrequent neoplasm that can be associated with significant morbidity and cause diagnostic difficulty to both the ophthalmologist and pathologist. We herein describe the first reported case in North American and European databases of a rare variant-signet ring cell melanoma – arising in the background of primary acquired melanosis (PAM) and use this case as a review of important diagnostic and therapeutic considerations when faced with this condition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examined the significant life experiences (SLE) of individuals who had placed conservation easements on private property. Specifically, this study explored how early life experiences may impact ones conservation ethic to effect decisions on land protection. The researchers utilized a sequential embedded mixed methods research design, relying on both qualitative and quantitative data in order to develop an understanding of the phenomenon. All participants for ihi~ study were individuals who had placed a conservation easement on her or his property in lndi~nia. The mixed method analysis indicates that individual and infom~al experiences in and about the outdoors had the greatest perceived impact and were significantly dift~rent than more formalized experiences among the study's participants. The discussion focuses on the impact of informal experiences in the outdoors and the impact on the sell-perceived development of conservation ethics as significant life experiences pertaining to conservation behavior and the placing of conservation easements. Implications of this exploratory study arc discussed as they pertain to practitioners and scholars alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined landowners' motivations for placing conservation easements on personal property. A mixed method sequential embedded research framework was utilized to elucidate the motivations of greatest consequence for landowners adopting conservation easements throughout Indiana. Specifically, the researchers sampled owners of agricultural and forestland who have adopted conservation easements. The qualitative results indicate that the motivation to limit development stems from witnessing the development of land, environmental ethics and values, personal history associated with the place, and the need for farmland for the public good. The quantitative results suggest that environmental values were the primary motivation for conservation easement adoption, with uniqueness of place being ranked second. Discussions of the study's results are presented with implications for the land conservation and conservation behavior fields. Finally, future directions for research within the phenomena of conservation easement usage are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is a common procedure that has a fairly high success rate. Despite such success, controversy exists with regard to fixation and graft type. The purpose of this study was to quantify the maximum load to failure for staple-anchor freeze-dried Achilles tendon allograft fixation compared with interference screw bone-pattelar tendon-bone autograft fixation at the time of insertion for ACL reconstruction. Methods: Eleven pairs of cadaveric knees were prepared for ACL reconstruction by disarticulation before graft insertion. The tibia and femur were mounted separately onto an MTS machine and were loaded to failure in line with the tunnels. Femoral fixation for the allograft was provided by a staple anchor; tibial fixation was provided by a suture anchor. Titanium interference screws on the femoral and tibial sides provided autograft fixation. A paired t test was performed to compare mechanical testing results in the 2 groups. Results: Mean maximum load to failure for the allograft was 58.7 N (range, 32.3 to 92.6 N) and 119.6 N (range, 82 to 165.9 N) for the femur and the tibia, respectively, compared with 228.2 N (range, 74.2 to 352 N) and 232.9 N (range, 65.1 to 553.1 N) for the autografts. This difference was statistically significant (P < .001) for femoral fixation, but it was not statistically significant for tibial fixation (P = .186). Conclusions: Soft tissue Achilles tendon allograft with staple fixation is a significantly weaker fixation construct when compared with autograft bone-patellar tendon-bone with interference screw fixation. Clinical Relevance: This study shows significantly weaker fixation in the staple-alograft construct and yet this construct has had at least equivalent results over a 5-year time frame, indicating that rigid femoral fixation may not be a critical factor in long-term results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Municipal parks and recreation departments (PRDs) have a crucial responsibility for stewarding urban and peri-urban ecology given they manage the majority of urban green spaces. However, the extent of climate adaptation planning and management activities by such agencies at the national level is unknown. This study aimed to fill this gap by conducting a national survey of the directors of PRDs (n = 413) to understand the progress and drivers of climate change adaptation efforts for urban green spaces. Overall, we found that while measured impacts of climate change were positively correlated with PRDs' climate-change adaptation plans and actions, most PRDs perceived few impacts of climate change on urban green spaces. We also found that levels of adaptation varied across ecoregions, with direct experiences with climate change impacts being a primary contributor to action. These findings indicate that U.S. municipal PRDs are unprepared for the changing climate and are unlikely to initiate urban green space adaptation planning and action until substantial climate change impacts are experienced firsthand. • Municipal parks departments tend to adapt to immediate problems related to climate change. • Experiences with climate-change-related problems motivate municipal parks departments to take adaptation steps. • Perceived impacts of extreme drought tend to motivate more actions among municipal parks departments. • Sharing data and adaptation plans within similar eco-regions may stimulate quicker implementation of adaptation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climate-driven risks were an emerging but limited driver of cover crop adoption. • Farmers depicted adoption as creating tradeoffs rather than win-win outcomes. • Climate change may encourage or discourage adoption because of tradeoffs. • Outreach should prioritize involving farmers in shared problem-solving. • Policy changes should help farmers manage adoption tradeoffs to prevent abandonment. Cover crops represent a potential win-win opportunity to promote climate resilience by helping farmers adapt to climate risks while simultaneously mitigating multiple environmental impacts from agriculture. However, cover crop adoption rates are increasing slowly and cover less than 5% of U.S. croplands. In contrast, several Indiana counties in the southern Wabash River Basin have cover crops on more than 20 % of farmland. This qualitative study draws on 33 semi-structured interviews with farmers to understand whether climate risks are driving the above-average rates of adoption in this area. Our purposive sample of farmers was guided by whether they farmed flood-prone areas along the White and Wabash Rivers, thus making them especially sensitive to increasing flood risks from climate change. We found that while climate risks, particularly intensifying rainfall events, were a factor in some cases, most adoption was a longstanding effort to control wind-erosion on hilly areas with sandy soils. We also found that farmers experienced challenges with adoption following successful establishment of cover crops tied to climate-driven ecosystem responses. Greater spring precipitation delayed cash crop planting because of moisture retention and intensified pest pressures from increased habitat has caused replanting of cash crop seeds. Responses indicate that climate risks have mixed effects that may either discourage or encourage cover crop adoption depending on whether future outreach and policy interventions can help farmers overcome the adoption challenges they encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]