Development of the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) is described. In Study 1, a set of 17 items was selected on the basis of responses by 125 postpartum women. Analyses of the reliability and validity were then conducted. In Study 2, these analyses were replicated using data from an independent sample of 130 postpartum women. Study 3 involved an analysis of the ability of scores on the IIFAS to predict duration of breast‐feeding among a sample of 725 women who had initiated that method of feeding their babies while in the hospital. Limitations of this research and possible future uses of the IIFAS in studies addressing the determinants and consequences of infant‐feeding attitudes are discussed.

In this study, the authors tested the relation between loneliness and subsequent admission to a nursing home over a 4-year time period in a sample of approximately 3,000 rural older Iowans. Higher levels of loneliness were found to increase the likelihood of nursing home admission and to decrease the time until nursing home admission. The influence of extremely high loneliness on nursing home admission remained statistically significant after controlling for other variables, such as age, education, income, mental status, physical health, morale, and social contact, that were also predictive of nursing home admission. Several mechanisms are proposed to explain the link between extreme loneliness and nursing home admission. These include loneliness as a precipitant of declines in mental and physical health and nursing home placement as a strategy to gain social contact with others. Implications for preventative interventions are discussed.

Temporal pigmentation changes resulting from the development of a purple color in anaerobic swine waste lagoons were investigated during a 4-year period. The major purple photosynthetic bacterium responsible for these color changes and the corresponding reductions in odor was isolated from nine photosynthetic lagoons. By using morphological, physiological, and phylogenetic characterization methods we identified the predominant photosynthetic bacterium as a new strain of Rhodobacter, designated Rhodobacter sp. strain PS9. Improved swine production efficiency over the last few decades has resulted in a trend towards concentrated animal feeding operations (15). This trend has also resulted in increased private and government awareness of the potential effects of high-density production facilities on water and air quality associated with manure storage and treatment systems (3,32,43,45,46,52). Swine production facilities generally store manure in earthen, concrete, or steel-lined storage basin, pit, or lagoon systems for up to 14 months prior to land application (14,16). During storage, the effluent becomes anaerobic, and emission of malodorous compounds often becomes a problem. Several treatment systems have been described to control the release of odorous compounds from livestock wastes (26,56). Aeration, addition of chemical oxidants, and methanogenic digestors all reduce odors generated during storage and treatment (1,37). However, the use of these techniques has not received widespread acceptance because of the initial expense, management time, and equipment maintenance required. Other treatments designed to reduce odors from swine production facilities include addition of chemicals, including sodium nitrate and enzymes such as yucca extracts, and addition of mixed microbial populations to storage systems (56). These treatments are expensive and have produced inconsistent results (38).Because of cost and space limitations, anaerobic lagoons are often used for animal waste management systems. These lagoons serve as storage facilities and support anaerobic degradation of complex organic compounds. However, in the absence of oxygen and most other terminal electron acceptors, the incomplete oxidation of the complex organic compounds in livestock waste produces offensive by-products, such as volatile organic compounds (VOC), hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia (21,32,38,45,46,54). The concentration of odorous compounds from anaerobic lagoons can be minimized in many cases with good management practices (56). However, regardless of the management practices used, the concentration of odors from lagoons appears to be dependent on the microflora that develops in the system. For example, it is common practice to seed new anaerobic swine waste lagoons with material from working lagoons to accelerate the development of a stable microflora (56).One microbial event that has been observed by a number of investigators in relation to odors from swine waste storage lagoon systems is the temporal change in the pigmentation of the lagoo...

The 17-item IIFAS-A is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring women's infant feeding attitudes in the Arab context.

This study compares marriage and family therapists (MFTs) to psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers on job-related measures, such as job autonomy, job satisfaction, burnout, and intention to stay in their present position, as well as on reactions to a managed care initiative in the state of Iowa. Findings indicate that MFTs scored significantly lower than other practitioners on job autonomy and intention to stay in their present position, but there were no differences in job satisfaction or burnout. Marital and family therapists also reported less dissatisfaction with the managed care initiative than psychiatrists, although virtually all practitioners were dissatisfied with the managed-care program. These findings indicate some dissatisfaction within the MFT profession and may be relevant to practitioners seeking to change or expand their practice, as well as to the needs of MFTs in their training programs.