Value Addition Institute

Cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors (COXIBs) have shown preventive and therapeutic potential for colorectal cancer (CRC). In addition to inhibiting COX, approved COXIBs also target COX-independent pathways, including NF-κB and AKT. We evaluated how inhibition of various COXIB targets affects cell proliferation and apoptosis using a Boolean model incorporating the effect of several genetic mutations linked to CRC. The mutations activate two positive feedback loops and cause increased cell proliferation and survival. When simulating loss of function of APC, proliferation and apoptosis can be restored to healthy rates by inhibiting COX2. In simulations reflecting other genetic mutations, none of the investigated targets restore apoptosis and proliferation is reduced by inhibiting AKT or NF-κB, but not by any of the other COX targets tested. These results show that the off-target effects of COXIBs are crucial for their efficacy in the treatment of sporadic CRC.

Does state funding of parties lead to petrification of the party systems with very few new parties, or to competition that is more open where new parties proliferate? According to the cartel party thesis, the provision of state funding leads to the establishment of barriers to the entry of new parties. In contrast, strategic entry theory posits that state funding represents an electoral benefit and thus reduces the costs of entry; as a result, the electoral success of new parties should increase. This study covers 11 post-communist countries that joined the EU and analyses the relationships between state funding and new party support in 84 elections. Using various measures of state funding of parties (eligibility threshold, timing of financing, and amount of subsidies), this article shows a negative relationship between state funding of parties and electoral support of new parties.

<p>This comparative study investigated some physical, milling and cooking properties of four new rice varieties (FARO 44, FARO 52, FARO 60 and FARO 61) in Nigeria. The varieties were processed into white rice and their properties analyzed separately using standard procedures. Results showed that paddy length, paddy-length-to-width-ratio, equivalent diameter, sphericity, grain volume, aspect ratio, thousand paddy grain weight, milled rice length, milled rice width, milled rice length to width ratio, milling recovery, head milled rice, broken milled rice, L*, a*, b*, elongation ratio, cooked-rice-lengthto-breadth ratio, water uptake ratio and cooking time were significantly different (p<0.05) for all the varieties. Milling recovery was found to vary from 65.3 to 68.33%; with FARO 60 having the highest head milled rice. It was observed that FARO 44 had the longest cooking time, elongation ratio and cooked rice length/breadth ratio while FARO 61 was found to have the highest water uptake ratio. There was significant positive correlation (r = 0.824) between percentage head milled rice and milling recovery while negative correlation existed between cooking time and L* (r = - 0.711). This information could be exploited by rice processors in the post-harvest processing of the varieties.</p>