Pretest assessment as a component of safer sex intervention: a pilot study of brief one-session interventions for women partners of male injection drug users in New York City.

This pilot study evaluated whether brief safer sex interventions for women partners of male injection drug users significantly influenced perceptions of partner risk, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) knowledge, correct condom usage, and self-reported consistent safer sex (abstinence or 100% of vaginal-penile intercourse acts protected by male or female condoms). The study also examined the impact of pretest assessment on those variables since pretest assessment may challenge participants' current knowledge, safer sex practices, and partner communication techniques. The study randomly assigned participants to pretest or no pretest assessment. Each group was also assigned randomly to a presentation modality: (1) safer sex pamphlet review only, (2) pamphlet review with demonstration of several safer sex alternatives, or (3) pamphlet review with skills practice to mastery with one safer sex alternative of the woman's choice. For the last two conditions, a 35-minute interactive session covered prevention efficacy of safer sex methods for HIV, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, correct use, eroticization, local cost and availability, and partner objections. At 7 weeks postintervention, a higher proportion of women who took pretest assessment reported consistent safer sex (66.7%) compared to those without pretests (55.6%). Assignment to the interactive interventions (skills or demonstration) had little additional impact over pretest assessment for these women. Among women who did not take pretests, the interactive interventions had strong effects; 76.9% reported consistent safer sex versus 33.3% in the pamphlet review group. There were additional specific effects for pretest assessment on HIV knowledge and partner risk perception and for interactive intervention on correct condom usage. Brief interventions appear to have some positive short-term effects. Pretest assessment may be an important component of brief interventions.

Mineral metabolism of rats fed moderate levels of various aluminum compounds for short periods of time.

The effects of ingesting moderate levels of aluminum (5-272 micrograms Al/g diet) were assessed in two short-term (18-d) studies with rats. Rats were fed diets that contained no added aluminum or aluminum lactate, aluminum palmitate, aluminum phosphate or aluminum hydroxide in either reagent grade or desiccated gel forms. The average concentrations of aluminum in the tibias of rats fed 261-272 micrograms Al/g diet were 13.0-15.6 micrograms Al/g fresh weight, while those of control animals were 1.0-1.9 micrograms Al/g fresh weight. Rats fed aluminum accumulated less aluminum in their kidneys and brains than in their tibias. In study 1, animals fed aluminum hydroxide tended to accumulate more aluminum in tissues, i.e., brain, than animals fed the other aluminum compounds. In study 2 the type of aluminum hydroxide fed did not affect the accumulation of aluminum in tissues but rats fed 206 micrograms Al/g diet accumulated less aluminum in their tibias and more aluminum in their kidneys than rats fed 261 and 268 micrograms Al/g diet. Ingestion of these moderate doses of aluminum had no effects on tissue levels of calcium, magnesium and iron of rats and had only small effects on tissue levels of phosphorus, zinc and copper.