Choice of props for courtship dancing in estrildid finches.

Among the diverse sexual signals used by birds, the possible signaling functions of non-bodily objects during mating/courting displays remain unexplained. It is unclear whether such object-holding gestures are purely ritualistic or serve as an advertisement of an extended phenotype to potential mates. Estrildid finches (family Estrildidae) are characterized by mutual courtship, during which either a male or female will hold nesting material (usually grass stems or straw) in the beak while singing and dancing toward the opposite sex.

Effect of Oral Lactate Administration on Skeletal Muscle Mass in Mice Under Different Loading Conditions.

Background/aim: Lactate is a physiologically active substance secreted by skeletal muscle that has been suggested to stimulate muscle mass gain. However, the molecular mechanism for lactate-associated muscle hypertrophy remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether oral administration of lactate increases muscle mass under different loading conditions.

Palliative Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Descriptive Cohort Study.

Background: Palliative care (PC) is the standard of care for patients with serious medical illnesses, or those conditions associated with high risk of mortality and negative impact on quality of life (QOL). Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the gold standard treatment for certain psychiatric conditions, which may co-occur with serious medical illnesses. However, the use of "palliative ECT" (PECT) in this context is understudied.

Evaluation of Postoperative Adhesions in a Subsequent Cesarean Section Following the Use of Dextrin Hydrogel Spray as Adhesion Barrier for Laparoscopic Myomectomy.

Objectives: Laparoscopic myomectomy (LM) is a procedure with a high rate of postoperative adhesions, which can lead to complications such as bowel obstruction and subsequent surgical problems, making anti-adhesion measures important. Various anti-adhesion materials are already on the market and have shown efficacy, but dextrin hydrogel spray (AdSpray™), an anti-adhesion material launched in 2017, has not yet been reported in the field of gynecology, although there are papers showing its usefulness in the surgical field such as repeat hepatectomy and ileostomy closure. Thereby, we investigated the postoperative status of AdSpray™ in LM.