Jesse Martinez

The use of omega fatty acids during pregnancy and lactation could be a beneficial strategy to improve health and production in ruminants. In this study, the effect of the dietary addition of c9, t11 and t10, c12 isomers of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in pure soybean oil (T1) was compared with pure soybean oil (T2) and soybean oil discarded after frying fish (Centropomus undecimalis, Pagrus pagrus, and Caranx crysos; T3) on the fatty acid profile in ewe milk and the tissues of their lambs. Forty-five multiparous ewes (East Friesian × Katahdin), 32 to 35 months old, 70 days pregnant, were randomly assigned to one of the three experimental diets. The fatty acid profile, total solids, fat, protein, and lactose in milk were determined 14 days postpartum. Fifteen lambs from each treatment were sacrificed at 70 days of age, and the fatty acid profiles in perirenal fat, muscle, and brain were determined. In milk, fat and total solids content were lower with T1. On the other hand, linoleic acid content, the sum of omega-6 and DHA were higher in T1 compared to other groups (p < 0.05). In the brain, stearic acid and linoleic acid concentration increased with T1; eicosapentaenoic acid decreased and omega-3s increased with T3, while DHA was lower in T2 (p < 0.05). The addition of CLA isomers or discarded soybean oil in ewe diet from pregnancy to lactation is advantageous for the ewe since less energy in the form of milk fat is lost. In addition, increasing the concentration of omega fatty acids in ewe diet to improve omega fatty acids in lamb’s brain could be a feed strategy to increase their productivity and health.

We investigate the emergence of iconicity, specifically a bouba-kiki effect in miniature artificial languages under different functional constraints: when the languages are reproduced and when they are used communicatively. We ran transmission chains of participant dyads who played an interactive communicative game and individual participants who played a matched learning game. An analysis of the languages over six generations in an iterated learning experiment revealed that in the Communication condition, but not in the Reproduction condition, words for spiky shapes tend to be rated by naive judges as more spiky than the words for round shapes. This suggests that iconicity may not only be the outcome of innovations introduced by individuals, but, crucially, the result of interlocutor negotiation of new communicative conventions. We interpret our results as an illustration of cultural evolution by random mutation and selection.

Graduates of doctoral programs are expected to be competent at designing and conducting research independently. Given the level of research competence needed to successfully conduct research, it is important that assessors of doctoral programs have a reliable and validated tool for measuring and tracking perceived research competence among their students and graduates. A high level of research competence is expected for all Ph.D. graduates worldwide, in addition to in all disciplines/fields. Moreover, graduates of Ph.D. programs may complete their studies in one country but then obtain a research position in another country, emphasizing the need to ensure that all doctoral programs are fostering similar levels of research competence. Thus, the purpose of this study was to gather additional evidence for validity and reliability of the Research Competence scale. Specifically, we sought to extend the findings of by adapting the scale, translating it to other languages, and applying the tool with a sample of early stage researchers. Our findings provide initial evidence that the adapted PR-Comp is appropriate for use in three languages and across a variety of disciplines/programs of study.