OBJECTIVES: This study assessed recent trends in HIV seroprevalence among injecting drug users in New York City. METHODS: We analyzed temporal trends in HIV seroprevalence from 1991 through 1996 in 5 studies of injecting drug users recruited from a detoxification program, a methadone maintenance program, research storefronts in the Lower East Side and Harlem areas, and a citywide network of sexually transmitted disease clinics. A total of 11,334 serum samples were tested. RESULTS: From 1991 through 1996, HIV seroprevalence declined substantially among subjects in all 5 studies: from 53% to 36% in the detoxification program, from 45% to 29% in the methadone program, from 44% to 22% at the Lower East Side storefront, from 48% to 21% at the Harlem storefront, and from 30% to 21% in the sexually transmitted disease clinics (all P < .002 by chi 2 tests for trend). CONCLUSIONS: The reductions in HIV seroprevalence seen among injecting drug users in New York City from 1991 through 1996 indicate a new phase in this large HIV epidemic. Potential explanatory factors include the loss of HIV-seropositive individuals through disability and death and lower rates of risk behavior leading to low HIV incidence.

Tubules were isolated by the passage of coarsely homogenized kidney parenchyma through a series of stainless steel sieves of varying pore sizes. The isolated tubules, which were free of glomeruli or any contaminating tissue, based on light microscopic examination, served as starting material for the isolation of tubular basement membrane (TBM). The tubules were sonically disrupted, and the subsequent isolation procedure was conceptually similar to that of the isolation of glomerular basement membrane (GBM). The chemical composition of TBM was compared to that of GBM and collagen. 3-hydroxyproline, a marker for basement membrane protein, was present in higher amount in TBM (10 residues per 1,000 amino acid residues) than in GBM (7 residues per 1,000). Glycine and hydroxylysine content was also higher in TBM (255 and 27 residues per 1,000, respectively, in contrast to 204 and 18 residues in GBM). The total carbohydrate content was 7.6 mg per 100 mg of dry weight (neutral sugars, 6.3; GlcN, 0.9; GalN, 0.1; and sialic acid, 0.3). By electron microscopic examination, the isolated TBM was similar to GBM, except for greater variability in diameter and serrated appearance of one surface of the tubular basement membrane fragments. The method is suitable for the isolation of TBM in sufficient quantity for subsequent chemical analyses and immunologic studies.

Investigations on the spontaneous release of stCr from the EL-4 ascitic lymphoma showed that daily rhythmic changes can be correlated with the dominance of certain cell types in the population. A generation time of 9.8 h, an average doubling time of 32 h, and an ‘appearance cycle’ of 96 h were established for the population. Earlier observed variations in the values for spontaneous ⁵¹Cr release can be explained in terms of the cellular composition of the population.

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