DSE Hadron Phenomenology

A perspective on the contemporary use of Dyson-Schwinger equations, focusing on some recent phenomenological applications: a description and unification of light-meson observables using a one-parameter model of the effective quark-quark interaction, and studies of leptonic and nonleptonic nucleon form factors.Comment: 7 pages, sprocl.sty, epsfig.sty. Contribution to the Proceedings of the Workshop on Light-Cone QCD and Nonperturbative Hadron Physics, Adelaide, Australia, 13-22 Dec 199

A Phase II, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Simtuzumab in Combination with FOLFIRI for the Second-Line Treatment of Metastatic KRAS Mutant Colorectal Adenocarcinoma.

Lessons learnedThe safety profile in the patient groups who received FOLFIRI and simtuzumab did not differ from that in the FOLFIRI and placebo group.The addition of simtuzumab to chemotherapy with FOLFIRI does not improve clinical outcomes in patients with metastatic KRAS mutant colorectal carcinoma.BackgroundSimtuzumab, a humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody to lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2), blocks desmoplastic reaction in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) cells in vitro.MethodsPatients with metastatic Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) mutant CRC were randomized to receive second-line 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) with either 200 or 700 mg simtuzumab or placebo every 2 weeks in cycles of 28 days. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), and safety were assessed.ResultsIn total, 249 patients were randomized and treated with FOLFIRI/simtuzumab 700 mg (n = 84), FOLFIRI/simtuzumab 200 mg (n = 85), and FOLFIRI/placebo (n = 80). After a median follow-up of 5.1, 3.8, and 5.5 months, respectively, median PFS for each of the respective treatment groups was 5.5 months (adjusted HR [95% CI], p value versus placebo; 1.32 [0.92, 1.89]; p = .10), 5.4 months (1.45 [1.01, 2.06]; p = .04), and 5.8 months. Median OS was 11.4 months (1.23 [0.80, 1.91]; p = .25), 10.5 months (1.50 [0.98, 2.30]; p = .06), and 16.3 months, respectively. ORR was 11.9%, 5.9%, and 10%, respectively. Simtuzumab was tolerable in metastatic KRAS mutant CRC patients.ConclusionThe addition of simtuzumab to FOLFIRI did not improve clinical outcomes in patients with metastatic KRAS mutant CRC. The Oncologist 2017;22:243-e8

The Character of Goldstone Bosons

A succinct review of the QCD gap equation and dynamical chiral symmetry breaking; their connection with Bethe-Salpeter equations and resolving the dichotomous nature of the pion; the calculation of the pion's valence-quark distribution; and first results for the pi-exchange contribution to the gamma N -> omega N cross-section, which is important in the search for missing nucleon resonances.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX2e, ws-p8-50x6-00.cls, Contribution to the Proceedings of the "Workshop on Lepton-Scattering, Hadrons and QCD," Adelaide, 26 March-6 April, 200

Pair creation and plasma oscillations

We describe aspects of particle creation in strong fields using a quantum kinetic equation with a relaxation-time approximation to the collision term. The strong electric background field is determined by solving Maxwell's equation in tandem with the Vlasov equation. Plasma oscillations appear as a result of feedback between the background field and the field generated by the particles produced. The plasma frequency depends on the strength of the initial background field and the collision frequency, and is sensitive to the necessary momentum-dependence of dressed-parton masses.Comment: 11 pages, revteX, epsfig.sty, 5 figures; Proceedings of 'Quark Matter in Astro- and Particlephysics', a workshop at the University of Rostock, Germany, November 27 - 29, 2000. Eds. D. Blaschke, G. Burau, S.M. Schmid