Dyson-Schwinger Equations: Density, Temperature and Continuum Strong QCD

Continuum strong QCD is the application of models and continuum quantum field theory to the study of phenomena in hadronic physics, which includes; e.g., the spectrum of QCD bound states and their interactions; and the transition to, and properties of, a quark gluon plasma. We provide a contemporary perspective, couched primarily in terms of the Dyson-Schwinger equations but also making comparisons with other approaches and models. Our discourse provides a practitioners' guide to features of the Dyson-Schwinger equations [such as confinement and dynamical chiral symmetry breaking] and canvasses phenomenological applications to light meson and baryon properties in cold, sparse QCD. These provide the foundation for an extension to hot, dense QCD, which is probed via the introduction of the intensive thermodynamic variables: chemical potential and temperature. We describe order parameters whose evolution signals deconfinement and chiral symmetry restoration, and chronicle their use in demarcating the quark gluon plasma phase boundary and characterising the plasma's properties. Hadron traits change in an equilibrated plasma. We exemplify this and discuss putative signals of the effects. Finally, since plasma formation is not an equilibrium process, we discuss recent developments in kinetic theory and its application to describing the evolution from a relativistic heavy ion collision to an equilibrated quark gluon plasma.Comment: 103 Pages, LaTeX, epsfig. To appear in Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics, Vol. 4

Examination of Thermal Unfolding and Aggregation Profiles of a Series of Developable Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies

Screening for pharmaceutically viable stability from measurements of thermally induced protein unfolding and short-term accelerated stress underpins much molecule design, selection, and formulation in the pharmaceutical biotechnology industry. However, the interrelationships among intrinsic protein conformational stability, thermal denaturation, and pharmaceutical stability are complex. There are few publications in which predictions from thermal unfolding-based screening methods are examined together with pharmaceutically relevant long-term storage stability performance. We have studied eight developable therapeutic IgG molecules under solution conditions optimized for large-scale commercial production and delivery. Thermal unfolding profiles were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and intrinsic fluorescence recorded simultaneously with static light scattering (SLS). These molecules exhibit a variety of thermal unfolding profiles under common reference buffer conditions and under individually optimized formulation conditions. Aggregation profiles by SE-HPLC and bioactivity upon long-term storage at 5, 25, and 40 °C establish that IgG molecules possessing a relatively wide range of conformational stabilities and thermal unfolding profiles can be formulated to achieve pharmaceutically stable drug products. Our data suggest that a formulation design strategy that increases the thermal unfolding temperature of the Fab transition may be a better general approach to improving pharmaceutical storage stability than one focused on increasing <i>T</i>_onset or <i>T</i>_m of the first unfolding transition

Bank Audit Fees and Asset Securitization Risks

Asset securitizations increase audit complexity and audit risks, which are expected to increase audit fees. Using US bank holding company data from 2003 to 2011, we find significant and positive associations between asset securitization risks and audit fees. After the commencement of the global financial crisis (GFC), there was an increased focus on the role of audits on asset securitization risks resulting from the crisis in the banking industry. Therefore, we expect that auditors would become more sensitive to banks’ asset securitization risks after the commencement of the global financial crisis. We find that auditors appear to focus on different aspects of asset securitization risks after the onset of the crisis and that auditors appear to charge a GFC premium for banks

Asset Securitizations and Credit Default Swaps

This study examines the effects of off-balance sheet versus on-balance sheet securitizations on the originator's credit risk in the default swap (CDS) market across the recent business cycle from 2002 to 2009. I find that on-balance sheet securitizations demonstrate greater effects on the originator's CDS premium than off-balance sheet securitizations in the business cycle. While off-balance sheet securitizations’ effects on the originator's CDS premium become significantly stronger after 2007 when the economy declines, on-balance sheet securitizations’ effects on the originator's CDS premium do not experience a significant change with the onset of the recession. The results suggest that the CDS market views originators as having greater probabilities not to honour their implicit guarantees for off-balance sheet securitizations during the economic downturn. The results also indicate that on balance sheet and off-balance sheet securitizations have distinctly different risk properties. It would be beneficial to investors if regulations take into considerations the changing credit risks of off-balance sheet securitizations and the different structures of asset securitizations