Some notes on education and psychology in the Soviet Union.

Major topic headings are: Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, University of Moscow Psychology Department, Aptitude and Achievement Testing. "Most of the Russian psychologists with whom I talked seemed interested in the exchange of books, tests, and other published materials with American psychologists… . On the surface there appears to be a wide gulf between Russian and American psychology… . Russian psychology seems to have its goals fairly well circumscribed by communist doctrine, by the Soviet attitude toward heredity, and its resulting concept of the individual." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diagnosis of personality disorder: A radical behavioral alternative.

From a radical behavioral perspective, a single diagnostic system is unlikely to serve diverse purposes. Instead, ideal diagnostic systems should be developed to serve specific purposes. For example, the crucial proof required of a classification system designed to improve the outcome of psychosocial intervention would be that it enhance the clinician's influence on processes associated with client change. This means, in turn, that the change processes must be known or theoretically specified. As an illustration of this general approach to diagnostic classification, a specific behavioral theory is used to articulate processes of change in psychotherapy. The Axis II of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) is then evaluated with respect to its ability to enhance clinicians' influence of these processes, found problematic, and an alternative classification criterion is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Global electrification and nuclear power: Toward sustainable growth in the new millennium

The new millennium will present daunting challenges for the world community: how to sustain prosperity while preserving the global environment in the presence of increasing world population. Science and technology hold the keys to resolving this well-publicized “tri-lemma” of balancing economy and environment under the increasing burden of population growth.

Technologies have been developing rapidly in recent years and their impact is being felt in every corner of the global community. It is expected that the process will only accelerate and expand in the new millennium. This, together with people's aspirations for better life, will put enormous demands on energy production. Thus, energy and environment will remain two poles of a central global issue in the new century. Electricity's role in mitigating environmental degradation is well known and global electrification promises the best hope for achieving globally sustainable growth. The question is then how to produce energy that can generate electricity harmoniously with environment. Nuclear power offers the best answer, as it is one of the few non-carbon sources that can produce electricity in significant quantity.

In examining the big picture of global priorities for the new millennium, the role of electrification and nuclear power is brought to the fore in the context of globally sustainable growth, and a strategic roadmap for revival of nuclear option is proposed.     

US nuclear power performance

During the past decade there has been a steady diminution in the economic expectations and public support for nuclear power in the USA. An increasing number of nuclear plants have been delayed, deferred, or cancelled, and those being completed face unforeseen rising costs. As a result, both the electric utility industry and the public generally perceive nuclear power, based on light water reactor technology, as intrinsically uneconomic and troublesome as a future option for power generation. The authors believe that this is not because of the inherent nature of nuclear power in general or light water reactors in particular. It arises mainly from the adverse regulatory and institutional framework in which electrical utilities and power plant constructors have to operate in the USA.     

Marrow transplantation for chronic myeloid leukemia: the influence of plasma busulfan levels on the outcome of transplantation

The influence of busulfan (BU) plasma concentration on outcome of transplantation from HLA identical family members for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) was examined in 45 patients transplanted in chronic phase (CP) (n = 39) or accelerated phase (AP) (n = 6). All patients received the same regimen of BU, 16 mg/kg orally and cyclophosphamide (CY), 120 mg/kg intravenously. Plasma concentrations of BU at steady state (C(SS)BU) during the dosing interval were measured for each patient. The mean C(SS)BU was 917 ng/mL (range, 642 to 1,749; median, 917; standard deviation, 213). Of patients with C(SS)BU below the median, seven (five of 18 in CP and two of four in AP) developed persistent cytogenetic relapse and three of these patients died. There were no relapses in patients with C(SS)BU above the median. The difference in the cumulative incidence of relapse between the two groups was statistically significant (P = .0003). C(SS)BU was the only statistically significant determinant of relapse in univariable or multivariable analysis. The 3-year survival estimates were 0.82 and 0.64 for patients with C(SS)BU above and below the median (P = .33). There was no statistically significant association of C(SS)BU with survival or nonrelapse mortality, although the power to detect a difference in survival between 0.82 and 0.64 was only 0.24, similarly C(SS)BU above the median was not associated with an increased risk of severe regimen-related toxicity. We conclude that low BU plasma levels are associated with an increased risk of relapse.