Search

A Travis County (Texas) survey of 1,270 landowners received 480 responses. Most respondents expected a large decline in agricultural land use and an increase in use for endangered species and wildlife habitats. Most were interested in educational programs but were unaware of provisions of the Endangered Species Act. (SK)

Passage of the 1990 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act resulted from the political influence of many environmental interest groups and, consequently, included many conservation provisions. As agricultural policy has increasingly reflected the environmental concerns of the public, farmers who participate in the Farm Program have adjusted their production practices to conserve land and water resources, minimize use of agrichemicals, and control animal wastes. Social exchange theory was used to examine personal and farm characteristics that could affect agroenvironmental attitudes, Farm Program participation, and conservation practices of Texas farmers (n = 1,063 farmers) in 1991. One in four farmers did not participate in a federal commodity/conservation program. Less than 8 percent of the variation in regulatory and environmental attitudes was explained by personal and farm characteristics, compared to 30 percent of the variation in Farm Program participation and 14 percent in use of conservation practices. Agroenvironmental attitudes and most background characteristics were poor predictors of farm-related behaviors. Level of gross farm income was the best predictor of farmers' attitudes and behaviors. Implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accurate histopathologic staging of preoperative biopsy specimens is critical for determining optimal surgical management for patients with primary cutaneous melanoma. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) currently list narrow excisional biopsy (fusiform excision) as the preferred technique for biopsying lesions suspicious for melanoma. However, preoperative shave biopsies are routinely performed on lesions concerning for melanoma in many medical centers out of convenience., Objective: The current retrospective chart review was performed to determine whether preoperative shave biopsies are acceptable for evaluating lesions suspicious for melanoma and whether shave biopsies lead to underestimation of Breslow depth great enough to require additional surgeries., Methods: A consecutive sample of 242 primary cutaneous melanoma cases surgically excised between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2010 in a private practice setting was analyzed for this study., Results: Breslow depth underestimation occurred in 8 of 226 shave biopsy cases (3.5%). Differences in preoperative and postoperative Breslow depths in shave biopsy cases were not statistically significant (P=0.48). Underestimation of Breslow depth, melanoma transection, positive deep biopsy margins, and tumor upstaging did not lead to statistically significant changes in surgical management., Conclusions: Based on the results from the current study and available literature, the authors posit that preoperative deep excisional shave biopsies performed by dermatologists are accurate for determining Breslow depth and for planning surgical management of melanomas.