Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) comprise a large group of polypeptides in the transforming growth factor beta superfamily with essential physiological functions in morphogenesis and organogenesis in both vertebrates and invertebrates. At present, the role of BMPs in the reproductive system of any species is poorly understood. Here, we have established the existence of a functional BMP system...

In a previous paper, Liu argued for the importance of establishing a precise theoretical foundation for program debugging from first principles. In this paper, we present a first step towards a theoretical exploration of program debugging algorithms. The starting point of our work is the recent debugging approach based on predicate switching. The idea is to switch the outcome of an instance of ...

Agriculture is both the cornerstone of global food security and one main drivers environmental degradation. To address existing potential impacts agriculture, policymakers are increasingly focussing on influencing farmers’ behaviour to adopt best management practices (BMPs). One strategies adopted provision advice aimed at raising awareness pollution mitigation measures. By improving awareness,...

Efforts to improve water quality increasingly rely on structural stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to remove pollutants from urban runoff. These structures can unintentionally produce mosquitoes and may play a role in the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. A questionnaire was distributed to over 300 stormwater and mosquito control agencies in the United States to assess the prevalence...

Best management practices (BMPs) are tools commonly used to mitigate negative impacts of agriculture on water quality; however, the relationship between BMPs and aquatic ecological function is unknown. Our research goal was to determine the association between both stream ecosystem metabolism and water quality, and the abundance and location of four different BMPs in agricultural catchments. Di...

A questionnaire survey was conducted among farmers in the Xiangxi River Basin to investigate local livestock situation and farmers’ understanding of attitude towards pollution. The results showed that lacked environmental awareness few poultry pollution treatment measures had been implemented. However, once understood would greatly influence their lives interests, they act prevent Agricultural ...

The buccal ganglia of Aplysia contain a central pattern generator (CPG) that mediates rhythmic movements of the buccal apparatus during feeding. Activity in this CPG is believed to be regulated, in part, by extrinsic serotonergic inputs and by an intrinsic and extrinsic system of putative dopaminergic cells. The present study investigated the roles of dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) in regul...

beneficial management practices (bmps) are important measures for reducing agricultural non-point source (nps) pollution. however, selection of bmps for placement in a watershed requires optimizing available resources to maximize possible water quality benefits. due to its iterative nature, the optimization typically takes a long time to achieve the bmp trade-off results which is not desirable ...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), as key mediators in angiogenesis and osteogenesis, are used in a combined delivery manner as a novel strategy in bone tissue engineering. VEGF has the potential to enhance BMPs induced bone formation. Both gene delivery and material-based delivery systems were incorporated in previous studies to investigate the sy...

Critical-size osseous defects cannot heal without surgical intervention and can pose a significant challenge to craniofacial reconstruction. Autologous bone grafting is the gold standard for repair but is limited by a donor site morbidity and a potentially inadequate supply of autologous bone. Alternatives to autologous bone grafting include the use of alloplastic and allogenic materials, mesen...