Agriculture in the national economy

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

A fixed point theorem for the infinite-dimensional simplex

We define the infinite dimensional simplex to be the closure of the convex hull of the standard basis vectors in R^infinity, and prove that this space has the 'fixed point property': any continuous function from the space into itself has a fixed point. Our proof is constructive, in the sense that it can be used to find an approximate fixed point; the proof relies on elementary analysis and Sperner's lemma. The fixed point theorem is shown to imply Schauder's fixed point theorem on infinite-dimensional compact convex subsets of normed spaces.Comment: 8 pages; related work at http://www.math.hmc.edu/~su/papers.htm

Antimicrobial and Mechanical Effects of Zeolite Use in Dental Materials: A Systematic Review

Objective: Ion-incorporated zeolite is a widely used antimicrobial material studied for various dental applications. At present, there is no other systematic review that evaluates the effectiveness of zeolite in all dental materials. The purpose of this study was to review all available literature that analyzed the antimicrobial effects and/or mechanical properties of zeolite as a restorative material in dentistry. Material and methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, an exhaustive search of PubMed, Ovid Medline, Scopus, Embase, and the Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source was conducted. No language or time restrictions were used and the study was conducted from June 1, 2020 to August 17, 2020. Only full text articles were selected that pertained to the usage of zeolite in dental materials including composite resin, bonding agents, cements, restorative root material, cavity base material, prosthesis, implants, and endodontics. Results: At the beginning of the study, 1534 studies were identified, of which 687 duplicate records were excluded. After screening for the title, abstract, and full texts, 35 articles remained and were included in the qualitative synthesis. An Inter-Rater Reliability (IRR) test, which included a percent user agreement and reliability percent, was conducted for each of the 35 articles chosen. Conclusion: Although ion-incorporated zeolite may enhance the antimicrobial properties of dental materials, the mechanical properties of some materials, such as MTA and acrylic resin, may be compromised. Therefore, since the decrease in mechanical properties depends on zeolite concentration in the restorative material, it is generally recommended to add 0.2-2% zeolite by weight. © 2021 University of Zagreb. All rights reserved

Robustness of superconductivity to competing magnetic phases in tetragonal FeS

We have determined the superconducting and magnetic properties of a hydrothermally synthesized powder sample of tetragonal FeS using muon spin rotation ({\mu}SR). The superconducting properties are entirely consistent with those of a recently published study, showing fully gapped behavior and giving a penetration depth of {\lambda}_{ab} = 204(3) nm. However, our zero-field {\mu}SR data are rather different and indicate the presence of a small, non-superconducting magnetic phase within the sample. These results highlight that sample-to-sample variations in magnetism can arise in hydrothermally prepared phases, but interestingly the superconducting behavior is remarkably insensitive to these variations.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Redundant domains contribute to the transcriptional activity of the thyroid transcription factor 1.

The thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1) is a homeodomain-containing protein implicated in the activation of thyroid-specific gene expression. Here we report that TTF-1 is capable of activating transcription from thyroglobulin and, to a lesser extent, thyroperoxidase gene promoters in nonthyroid cells. Full transcriptional activation of the thyroglobulin promoter by TTF-1 requires the presence of at least two TTF-1 binding sites. TTF-1 activates transcription via two functionally redundant transcriptional activation domains that as suggested by competition experiments, could use a common intermediary factor

Investment Bank Expertise in Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions

We study the influence of country expertise of investment banks in facilitating cross‐border merger deals by analyzing a large international sample of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals. We provide evidence that the geographical proximity, cultural affinity, and local experience of investment banks advising bidding firms on cross‐border M&A deals significantly increase the probability of completion of the deal, significantly decrease the time required to complete the deal, and significantly increase the operating performance of the acquiring firm after the deal. Our results are robust to firm, deal, country‐specific factors, and endogeneity concerns

Interval cancers in a national colorectal cancer screening programme

BACKGROUND: Little is known about interval cancers (ICs) in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify IC characteristics and compare these with screen-detected cancers (SCs) and cancers in non-participants (NPCs) over the same time period. DESIGN: This was an observational study done in the first round of the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme. All individuals (772,790), aged 50–74 years, invited to participate between 1 January 2007 and 31 May 2009 were studied by linking their screening records with confirmed CRC records in the Scottish Cancer Registry (SCR). Characteristics of SC, IC and NPC were determined. RESULTS: There were 555 SCs, 502 ICs and 922 NPCs. SCs were at an earlier stage than ICs and NPCs (33.9% Dukes’ A as against 18.7% in IC and 11.3% in NPC), screening preferentially detected cancers in males (64.7% as against 52.8% in IC and 59.7% in NPC): this was independent of a different cancer site distribution in males and females. SC in the colon were less advanced than IC, but not in the rectum. CONCLUSION: ICs account for 47.5% of the CRCs in the screened population, indicating approximately 50% screening test sensitivity: guaiac faecal occult blood testing (gFOBT) sensitivity is less for women than for men and gFOBT screening may not be effective for rectal cancer