The Language of Creativity: Validating Linguistic Analysis to Assess Creative Scientists and Artists.

The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to be among the first attempts to validate linguistic analysis as a method of creativity assessment and second, to differentiate between individuals in varying scientific and artistic creativity levels using personality language patterns. Creativity is most commonly assessed through methods such as questionnaires and specific tasks, the validity of which can be weakened by scorer or experimenter error, subjective and response biases, and self-knowledge constraints. Linguistic analysis may provide researchers with an automatic, objective method of assessing creativity, and free from human error and bias.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Science: A Dialectic of Scientific Fame.

In this article, I argue that scientific fame and impact exists on a continuum from the mundane to the transformative/revolutionary. Ideally, one achieves fame and impact in science by synthesizing two extreme career prototypes: intrinsic and extrinsic research. The former is guided by interest, curiosity, passion, gut, and intuition for important untapped topics.

Whole-body cortisol response of zebrafish to acute net handling stress.

Zebrafish, , are frequently handled during husbandry and experimental procedures in the laboratory, yet little is known about the physiological responses to such stressors. We measured the whole-body cortisol levels of adult zebrafish subjected to net stress and air exposure at intervals over a 24 h period; cortisol recovered to near control levels by about 1 h post-net-stress (PNS). We then measured cortisol at frequent intervals over a 1 h period.

The Psychology of Simonton's Science: Commentary on Simonton (2009).

One key assumption of the psychology of science is that psychological factors make certain interests, talents, and abilities more likely and others less likely (Feist, 2006). The line of argument that Simonton (2009, this issue) puts forth-integrating and uniting the meta-literatures on dispositional and developmental influences on scientific and artistic creativity-is not only consistent with this assumption from the psychology of science, but it is also a breeding ground for a host of testable hypotheses and calls for future empirical investigations. Given Simonton's own extraordinary levels of scientific creativity, indeed it would be interesting to turn his ideas back on him to see how his science is a product of his own developmental and dispositional experiences.

Differential effects of 24-hydroxycholesterol and 27-hydroxycholesterol on tyrosine hydroxylase and alpha-synuclein in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.

Evidence suggests that environmental and dietary factors may contribute to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). High dietary intake of cholesterol is such a factor that has been shown to increase or decrease the risk of PD. However, because circulating cholesterol does not cross the blood-brain barrier, the mechanisms linking dietary cholesterol to the pathogenesis of PD remain to be understood.

Regulation of beta-amyloid levels in the brain of cholesterol-fed rabbit, a model system for sporadic Alzheimer's disease.

Accumulation of beta-amyloid (Abeta) peptide in the brain is a major hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor for AD and has been shown by laboratory studies to cause Abeta accumulation. Abeta levels in the brain are governed by its generation from amyloid precursor protein by beta-secretase (BACE1), degradation by the insulin degrading enzyme (IDE), clearance from the brain by the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP-1), and transport from circulation into the brain by receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE).

Hypercholesterolemia-induced Abeta accumulation in rabbit brain is associated with alteration in IGF-1 signaling.

Hypercholesterolemia increases levels of beta-amyloid (Abeta), a peptide that accumulates in Alzheimer's disease brains. Because cholesterol in the blood does not cross the blood brain barrier (BBB), the link between circulating cholesterol and Abeta accumulation is not understood. In contrast to cholesterol, the oxidized cholesterol metabolite 27-hydroxycholesterol can cross the BBB, potentially increasing Abeta levels.

Using blood plasma for monitoring organochlorine contaminants in juvenile white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, from the lower Columbia River.

Organochlorine (OC) pesticide concentrations in blood plasma samples from 88 juvenile white sturgeon collected from the lower Columbia River were measured and compared to plasma sex steroid and OC tissue levels previously measured in corresponding fish. Significant squared correlation coefficients between summation operator DDT concentrations in sturgeon plasma and gonads and livers were 0.37 and 0.

Gene expression in the liver of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, during the stress response.

To better appreciate the mechanisms underlying the physiology of the stress response, an oligonucleotide microarray and real-time RT-PCR (QRT-PCR) were used to study gene expression in the livers of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). For increased confidence in the discovery of candidate genes responding to stress, we conducted two separate experiments using fish from different year classes. In both experiments, fish exposed to a 3 h stressor were compared to control (unstressed) fish.

Identification of plasma glucocorticoids in pallid sturgeon in response to stress.

Compared to teleosts, little is known about the stress response in chondrosteans, and the glucocorticoid(s) most responsive to stress have never been definitively determined in sturgeon. In terms of cortisol production, pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) have a low physiological response to stress compared to other sturgeons (Acipenser s.p.

Mercury concentrations in gonad, liver, and muscle of white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus in the lower Columbia River.

This study determined the partitioning of total mercury in liver, gonad, and cheek muscle of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmonatus) in the lower Columbia River. The relationship between tissue mercury concentrations and various physiologic parameters was assessed. White sturgeon were captured in commercial fisheries in the estuary and Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day Reservoirs.

Evidence of detrimental effects of environmental contaminants on growth and reproductive physiology of white sturgeon in impounded areas of the Columbia River.

This study sought to determine whether wild white sturgeon from the Columbia River (Oregon) were exhibiting signs of reproductive endocrine disruption. Fish were sampled in the free-flowing portion of the river (where the population is experiencing reproductive success) and from three reservoirs behind hydroelectric dams (where fish have reduced reproductive success). All of the 18 pesticides and almost all of the 28 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that were analyzed in livers and gonads were detected in at least some of the tissue samples.

A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity.

Theory and research in both personality psychology and creativity share an essential commonality: emphasis on the uniqueness of the individual. Both disciplines also share an emphasis on temporal consistency and have a 50-year history, and yet no quantitative review of the literature on the creative personality has been conducted. The 3 major goals of this article are to present the results of the first meta-analytic review of the literature on personality and creative achievement, to present a conceptual integration of underlying potential psychological mechanisms that personality and creativity have in common, and to show how the topic of creativity has been important to personality psychologists and can be to social psychologists.

Short-term exposure of Chinook salmon (Oncoryhnchus tshawytscha) to o,p-DDE or DMSO during early life-history stages causes long-term humoral immunosuppression.

We evaluated the effect of short-term exposures to a xenobiotic chemical during early life-history stages on the long-term immune competence of chinook salmon (Oncoryhnchus tshawytscha). Immersion of chinook salmon eggs in a nominal concentration of o,p-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (o,p-DDE; 10 ppm) for 1 hr at fertilization followed by immersion in the same dose for 2 hr at hatch resulted in a significant reduction in the ability of splenic leukocytes from fish 1 year after treatment to undergo blastogenesis upon in vitro stimulation with lipopolysaccharide. We also observed that the vehicle, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), caused a significant reduction in the ability of the splenic leukocytes to express surface immunoglobin M (SIgM) at this time.

Ovarian steroidogenesis in white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) during oocyte maturation and induced ovulation.

Ovarian follicles and plasma were collected from two female white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, injected with sturgeon pituitary homogenate followed 12h later with GnRHa to induce ovulation. The oocytes of one female underwent germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) but ovulation did not occur in response to hormonal stimulation (Female 1), while the oocytes of the other female underwent GVBD and ovulation (Female 2). Follicles collected 12h after the first injection to induce ovulation were incubated with radioinert pregnenolone (P5) or tritiated-P5 ([3H]P5) plus radioinert P5.

Plasma androgen correlation, EROD induction, reduced condition factor, and the occurrence of organochlorine pollutants in reproductively immature white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) from the Columbia River, USA.

White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) support an active fishery in the Columbia River, but there is poor reproductive success within the impounded sections. The poor reproductive success has been attributed to hydroelectric development; however, water pollution could be a significant factor. White sturgeon plasma, liver, and gonad samples were collected from four Columbia River locations and a California aquaculture facility.

Endogenous steroid metabolism is indicated by fluctuations of endogenous steroid and steroid glucuronide levels in early development of the steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Concentrations of endogenous steroids and their glucuronide conjugates fluctuated during early development in steelhead trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Whole body content of sex steroids and steroid glucuronides of both bisexual and gynogenetic (all female) steelhead trout were quantified by radioimmunoassay. Concentrations of 17beta-estradiol (E2) and cortisol increased 2-4 days before hatch.

Brain-pituitary-gonadal axis during early development and sexual differentiation in the rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss.

Profiles of testosterone, 11-ketotestosterone, androstenedione, and estradiol were determined by RIA, and immunocytochemical techniques were employed to identify gonadotropin (GTH) I and II and gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) in monosex and mixed sex populations of rainbow trout from 1 to 126 days postfertilization (dpf). Steroid levels were relatively high at 1 dpf and declined until 25 dpf. At 30 and 48 dpf (hatching) steroid levels increased slightly before they fell by 78 dpf and remained relatively constant thereafter.

In vivo steroid metabolism in embryonic and newly hatched steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Radioactive pregnenolone (P5), testosterone (T), or 17-beta-estradiol (E2) was microinjected into steelhead trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, embryos and newly hatched yolk-sac fry (alevins) to detect in vivo metabolism. We also assayed the water used to incubate animals for 10 hr after microinjection to detect possible metabolite excretion. High pressure liquid chromatography and thin layer chromatography were used to separate and tentatively identify steroid metabolites.

Brassica napus plastid and mitochondrial chaperonin-60 proteins contain multiple distinct polypeptides.

Plastid chaperonin-60 protein was purified to apparent homogeneity from Brassica napus using a novel protocol. The purified protein, which migrated as a single species by nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, contained four polypeptides: three variants of p60cpn60 alpha and p60cpn60 beta. Partial amino acid sequence determination demonstrated that each variant of p60cpn60 alpha is a distinct translation product.

A modified Escherichia coli chaperonin (groEL) polypeptide synthesized in tobacco and targeted to the chloroplasts.

The coding region for the Escherichia coli groEL (chaperonin-60) polypeptide was fused downstream of a pea rubisco small subunit transit peptide coding sequence under the control of a tandem 35S CaMV promoter. Transgenic tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi) containing this modified groEL gene were produced.

Sex steroid profiles of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) during early development and sexual differentiation.

Sex steroids were measured by radioimmunoassay in whole-body extracts of coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, during early development and sexual differentiation. Profiles were developed for fish from the time of fertilization until 87 days postfertilization (dpf) for six steroids: testosterone (T), 11-ketotestosterone (KT), androstenedione (A), progesterone (P4), 17 alpha-hydroxy-20 beta-dihydroprogesterone (DHP), and 17 beta-estradiol (E2). Ovarian fluid was also examined for steroid content.