No abstract

This paper examines sniffing as a mode of administration among three subgroups who sniff heroin: those who had never injected. those who were also injecting. and those who had ceased injection. Modified life-history interviews were conducted in 1994 with 26 people currently sniffing but not injecting, recruited in street-based settings in conjunction with an ongoing study of risk behavior and seroprevalence among drug injectors. These were supplemented by survey interviews and brief open-ended interviews with 23 people who combined heroin injecting with heroin sniffing, recruited from a parallel component of the ongoing study, based at a hospital detoxification ward. Not merely a brief precursor to heroin injecting, heroin sniffing can continue for long periods, and persist during and after periods of injection. Each subgroup uses heroin sniffing to regulate different perceived risks: heroin tolerance and financial expenditure (among those who have never injected). situational risks (among current injectors), and personal crises (among former injectors). These findings suggest the importance of personal factors over syringe availability or fear of HIV in use of modes of heroin administration.

The application of pectinases in industrial olive-oil processes is restricted by its production cost. Consequently, new fungal strains able to produce higher pectinase titers are required. The aim of this work was to study the capability of Aspergillus giganteus NRRL10 to produce pectinolytic enzymes by SSF and evaluate the application of these in olive-oil extraction. A. giganteus was selected among 12 strains on the basis of high pectinolytic activity and stability. A mixture composed by wheat bran, orange, and lemon peels was selected as the best substrate for enzyme production. Statistical analyses of the experimental design indicated that pH, temperature, and CaCl are the main factors that affect the production. Subsequently, different aeration flows were tested in a tray reactor; the highest activity was achieved at 20 L min per kilogram of dry substrate (kgds). Finally, the pectinolytic enzymes from A. giganteus improved the oil yield and rheological characteristics without affecting oil chemical properties.