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The Poincare-Miranda Theorem is a topological result about the existence of a zero of a function under particular boundary conditions. In this thesis, we explore proofs of the Poincare-Miranda Theorem that are discrete in nature - that is, they prove a continuous result using an intermediate lemma about discrete objects. We explain a proof by Tkacz and Turzanski that proves the Poincare-Miranda theorem via the Steinhaus Chessboard Theorem, involving colorings of partitions of n-dimensional cubes. Then, we develop a new proof of the Poincare-Miranda Theorem that relies on a polytopal generalization of Sperner's Lemma of Deloera - Peterson - Su. Finally, we extend these discrete ideas to attempt to prove the existence of a zero with the boundary condition of Morales.

The primary objective of this study was to apply the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasive communication to consumers' perceptions of food additive labelling. The model was used to explain how consumer information processing influences consumers' decision-making and consequent purchasing behaviour with regard to food products that contain food additives. To date, few studies have explained consumers' perceptions, viewpoints and understanding of additive labelling, or of their related purchasing behaviour. However, the increased marketing of processed foods containing additives and the concern expressed by consumers regarding the risks of additives call for the development of a theoretical basis for research into these issues. There is currently a lack of such data in South Africa. This study was conducted from a phenomenological qualitative approach with a descriptive exploratory nature. Eight focus group sessions with 39 food additive label readers were held in the Vanderbijlpark-Vereeniging area. A content analysis of the focus group discussions resulted in the categorising of concepts, and 33 subtle underlying themes were identified. The main findings of the study were that the participants' general perceptions suggested that food additives can be defined as unnatural chemical substances that are added to food and that hold some benefits and/or risks to the consumer. The participants' use of food additive information was influenced by the situational factors associated with each individual participant. Moreover, the participants were more aware of tartrazine, MSG and aspartame than of any other food additive. Participants were also confronted with various blocking mechanisms when searching for and selecting food products containing additives. These included a lack of standardisation of terminology, illegible ingredient listing, a lack of food control and regulation, information overload, incomprehensible information, manufacturers' dishonesty, time constraints and incorrect, untrustworthy, insufficient information. On the other hand, participants used various coping or risk-reducing strategies to reduce their concerns. In order to interpret the results, the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasive communication was adapted and applied to food additive labels. The adapted model illustrates how the consumers' perceptions of additive labels and their search for additional information influence their purchasing behaviour to varying extents. It is recommended that more attention be given to consumer education with regard to additive-related terminology used on food labels and that the results be put to use in the current revision of labelling regulations. Marketers and retailers could use the information to better understand the behaviour of consumers who read food additive labels. The value of this study was to show that consumers' prior perceptions of food additives are an important determinant of their purchasing behaviour, / Thesis (Ph.D. (Consumer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Syfte: Vår studie tar avstamp i det som tidigare forskning beskrivit som ett gap mellan konsumenters attityd och beteende till etisk konsumtion. Utifrån en efterfråga om ytterligare kartläggning och en upplevd avsaknad av studier som undersöker betydelsen av kunskap för betalningsvilja och konsumtion till fairtrade-produkter har vi därför formulerat följande syfte: "Syftet med studien är att få djupare förståelse för förhållandet mellan konsumenters kunskap om etisk märkning och deras konsumtion samt betalningsvilja för etiskt märkta-produkter." Metod: En enkätundersökning utfördes på Ica Maxi i Gävle där 143 slumpvis valda respondenter deltog. Respondenterna fick besvara frågor angående deras subjektiva ochobjektiva kunskap i avseende till fairtrade och därefter värdesätta priset för märkningen på tre utvalda produkter; banan, kaffe och honung. Utifrån detta kunde ett förhållande utläsas mellan kunskap och betalningsvilja. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet av vår undersökning visar ett positiv samband mellan konsumentkunskap och betalningsvilja samt konsumtion. Objektiv kunskap hade en större positiv påverkan på respondenternas betalningsvilja för fairtrade-produkter medan subjektiv kunskap hade större påverkan på uppskattad konsumtion och inställning. Fortsättningsvis kunde vi utläsa en generellt förhöjd betalningsvilja för fairtrade på samtliga utvalda produkter. Förslag till vidare forskning: Vi har i denna studie inte mätt respondenternas faktiska betalningsvilja eller faktiska konsumtion. Vidare forskning skulle således kunna undersöka betydelsen av kunskap om etisk märkning för betalningsviljan i verkliga marknadssituationer. Uppsatsens bidrag: Denna studie pekar på vikten av konsumentkunskap för etisk konsumtion. Bidraget är förståelsen för rollen objektiv och subjektiv kunskap spelar för att få konsumenter att inkludera etiskt märkta produkter i deras konsumentval samt  vara villiga att betala det pris premium som vanligtvis föreligger på fairtrade-märkta produkter. / Aim: Our study builds on what previous research has described as a gap between consumers' attitudes and behaviour to ethical consumption. Based on the request for additional mapping and a perceived lack of studies investigating the importance of knowledge to willingness to pay and consumption for fair trade products, we have formulated the following purpose: "The purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between consumers' knowledge on ethical labelling and their consumption together with willingness to pay for ethical labelled products." Method: In this study, we performed a quantitative survey at the food store Ica Maxi in Gävle with 143 randomly selected respondents' who completed the questionnaire.The respondents where asked to answer questions regarding their subjective and objective knowledge regarding fairtrade and then price three different food products labelled with fairtrade with the price of the equivalent product without label stated as a reference point. The products were; banana, coffee and honey. Through this we could examine the relationship between knowledge and willingness to pay. Result &amp; Conclusion: The result of our survey show that the level of knowledge affects purchase intent and willingness to pay for fairtrade products. We also found a distinction between subjective and objective knowledge. Subjective knowledge had a more distinct affect on consumption and attitude while objective knowledge affected the willingness to pay to a greater extent. Furthermore it was found that the average willingness to pay for a fairtrade label exceeded the equivalent products without label for all examined products.<img src="file:///page5image1176" /> Further research: In this thesis we did not research the respondents' actual willingness to pay nor actual consumption behaviour. Further research should hence examine the importance of knowledge on ethical labelling for willingness to pay in actual market situations Contribution of the thesis: This study points out the importance of consumer knowledge for ethical consumption. The contribution is additional understanding to therole subjective and objective knowledge plays for consumers to include ethical labelled products in their product choice and also being willing to pay the current market price premium for fairtrade labelled products.

In protein engineering, rational design and selection from combinatorial libraries are methods used to develop proteins with new or improved features. A very important protein for the biological sciences is the antibody that is used as a detecting agent in numerous laboratory assays. Antibodies used for these purposes are often ”man-made”, by immunising animals with the desired target, or by selections from combinatorial libraries. Naturally, antibodies are part of the immune defence protecting us from foreign attacks from e.g. bacteria or viruses. Some bacteria have evolved surface proteins that can bind to proteins abundant in the blood, like antibodies and serum albumin. By doing so, the bacteria can cover themselves in the host’s own proteins and through that evade being detected by the immune system. Two such proteins are Protein A from Staphylococcus aureus and Protein G from group C and G Streptococci. Both these proteins contain domains that bind to antibodies, one of which is denoted C2 (from Protein G) and another B (from Protein A). The B domain have been further engineered to the Z domain. In this thesis protein engineering has been used to develop variants of the C2 and Z domains for site-specific labelling of antibodies and for antibody purification with mild elution. By taking advantage of the domains’ inherent affinity for antibodies, engineering and design of certain amino acids or protein motifs of the domains have resulted in proteins with new properties. A photo crosslinking amino acid, p-benzoylphenylalanine, have been introduced at different positions to the C2 domain, rendering three new protein domains that can be used for site-specific labelling of antibodies at the Fc or Fab fragment. These domains were used for labelling antibodies with lanthanides and used for detection in a multiplex immunoassay. Moreover, a library of calcium-binding loops was grafted onto the Z domain and used for selection of a domain that binds antibodies in a calcium dependent manner. This engineered protein domain can be used for the purification of antibodies using milder elution conditions, by calcium removal, as compared to traditional antibody purification.

Cytochromes P-450 (P450s) belong to haemoprotein superfamily and they are responsible for metabolism of a wide variety of compounds, among others many drugs and carcinogens. P450s serve as the terminal oxidases in the mixed function oxidase system in cooperation with a redox partner NADPH: cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) providing input of two electrons to the reaction cycle of P450. The CPR can be substituted by other redox partner of P450, cytochrome b5 (cyt b5), to deliver the second electron. Three dimensional structure of P450 is required in order to fully understand its reaction mechanism. At the present time, a homology model of cytochrome P-450 2B4 (CYP 2B4) is available in our laboratory. In this study, the mapping of interaction domain between CYP 2B4 and cyt b5 employing a crosslinking agent EDC to form amide bonds between close complementary charged amino acid side chains was the first goal. We have identified five interacting amino acid pairs in total using mass spectrometry (MS). The second research interest was to verify and refine the CYP 2B4 model using a photoaffinity labelling with N-(p-azidobenzyl)-N-methyl-p-aminophenylamine probe. This photoreactive probe is known as CYP 2B4 ligand binding to the central iron atom of haem. After photoactivation the arginine 197 was found by MS...

0 Abstract Cystic fibrosis is an autosomal recessive disease caused by mutation in CFTR gene coding for a chloride channel in apical membrane of epithelial cells. This disorder leads to the change in ion transport causing the increase in mucus viscosity in airways as well as changes in glycosylation of saccharide structures on the cells. Because of that these cells are the target for bacterial adhesion. Chronic bacterial infections, which lead to gradual decline of lung function and damage of lung tissue, are the major cause of death of patients suffering with cystic fibrosis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the main pathogen causing chronic infections in cystic fibrosis patients. This bacterium produces a biofilm protecting them from host immune system and antibiotics. Once the colonization with PA occurs, it is difficult to get rid of this pathogen. The prophylactic treatment with orally administered hen antibodies against the PA virulence structures could be a prevention of chronic PA infections. In this work we tested the antibody against the bacterial lectin PA-IIL, which is suggested to be involved in the adhesion of the pathogen on epithelial cells. First, it was verified that the prepared antibody from egg yolks of a hen immunized with the bacterial lectin PA-IIL recognizes this antigen expressed...

This thesis deals with the legal regulation of the food law in the Czech Republic and abroad, focusing on EU food law. Its aim is not only to provide an introduction to overall issue of food law by introducing the legal sources and their recent important amendments but also to focus on food labelling, legal aspects of nutrition and the food law in France. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

1 The concept of an average consumer under Czech and European law RESUMÉ: The thesis is focused on the role of a so called average consumer under the law of unfair competition; namely concerning advertising and misleading labelling. The concept of an average consumer is being analysed under written law as well as in jurisprudence. The Czech and European laws are emphasized but other legal systems are also mentioned. A description of a current situation and history of the concept are accompanied by considerations de lege ferenda. Mainly the term consumer is being criticized as not quite suitable within the context of unfair competition. Unlike under the contract law, here the consumer does not represent an acting entity but a target or a prey. The current trend of weakening consumer's position-and therefore exaggeration's easing in advertising-is also criticized. Generally speaking, the advertising as such is being denounced; in particular because it harms the consumer and thus it is buck passing to speak about a consumer's protection while protecting and helping a competitor in reality. The thesis deals with practical impacts of misleading labelling on a consumer (and/or a competitor). According to its own methodology, it divides the misleading labelling into three categories: promotional, unsatisfactory...

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