TREND WATCH

A roundup of business developments spotted by other publications. Items were compiled and edited by Grassroots Research, a unit of the San Francisco money management firm RCM Capital Management. AIDS Test: Epitope of Beaverton, Ore., has developed what appears to be a less expensive AIDS test. The company’s OraSure checks saliva instead of blood. Final trials with about 400 subjects are expected to last about nine months. With approval from the federal government, Epitope hopes to put OraSure on the market in 12 months. The company believes that it will be cheaper than a blood test because no trained worker will be required to draw blood. Of the $65 cost associated with a typical blood test, the testing material costs only $3. Portland Oregonian

Fast Track: Florida will likely have the nation’s first magnetic levitation train, which will run the 13 miles from Orlando Airport to International Drive, a boundary of Disney World. Magnetic levitation enables the train to float above its track and achieve a frictionless ride of 350 m.p.h. Florida’s small version will cost $450 million to build and anticipates 4 million riders a year. The earliest the train could run would be 1994. Palm Beach Post

Crisis Windfall: Manpower and Adia, two of the largest suppliers of temporary office workers, appear likely to benefit from the Mideast crisis by filling in for the military reservists who have been called up. Another beneficiary will be the alternative energy industry: the providers of ethanol for fuel and industrial use, timber companies and solar energy firms. Milwaukee Journal Retail TV: The next time you see Debbie Reynolds or Bob Hope on TV, they may be promoting their books on the J. C. Penney Television Shopping Network rather than singing or dancing. Penney’s shopping channel is polishing its image concurrently with its stores by upgrading merchandise and adding celebrity hosts. Home shopping has grown astronomically in the five years since its inception; one industry watcher predicts that it could reach the $2-billion mark this year. Cleveland Plain Dealer