bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pretreatment with Pegylated Interferon Prevents Emergence of Lamivudine Mutants in Lamivudine-Naive Patients: A Pilot Study
Authors: Villa Erica , Lei Barbara , Taliani Gloria , Graziosi Amalia , Critelli Rosina , Luongo Monica , Gennari William , Bianchini Marcello , Ferretti Ilva 
Published: December 2009

Background In patients with advanced fibrosis, primary end points of long-term or possibly indefinite antiviral therapy are sustained inhibition of viral replication and avoidance of emergence of resistance. In lamivudine-treated patients, the strongest predictor of emergence of YMDD mutations is baseline hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA viral load. We aimed to verify whether abatement of viraemia by a short course of pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN-α2a) treatment before lamivudine treatment could prevent the emergence of lamivudine-associated mutations during long-term therapy. Methods A total of 14 patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative infection (3 lamivudine- experienced and 11 lamivudine-naive), with moderate/high viraemia (>106 copies/ml) and with Ishak stage 4-6 at liver biopsy were sequentially treated with 180 mg PEG-IFN-α2a for a period long enough to reach HBV DNA levels ≤103 copies/ ml or have a decrease of 3 log10 copies/ml from baseline. Lamivudine was then added to PEG-IFN-α2a treatment for 1 month and finally continued as monotherapy for 2 years or until viral breakthrough. Results Baseline HBV DNA (mean ±se 2.3x107 ±7.2x107 copies/ml) decreased with PEG-IFN-α2a treatment to target value in mean ±se 3.7 ±1.3 months. None of the 11 lamivudine-naive patients developed genotypic resistance and were still HBV-DNA-negative after a mean ±se observation period of 23 ±2 months, whereas the three lamivudine-experienced patients developed YMDD mutations after 6, 9 and 12 months of lamivudine monotherapy ( P=0.003, Fisher's exact test). Conclusions In lamivudine-naive patients, abatement of HBV DNA<103 copies/ml by pretreatment with PEG-IFN-α2a completely prevents the emergence of YMDD mutants after 24 months of lamivudine monotherapy. This sequential schedule can optimize the use of a well tolerated, effective and inexpensive drug, such as lamivudine, in highly viraemic HBV patients.
Herpesviridaeand novel inhibitors
Authors: Siakallis George , Spandidos Demetrios A , Sourvinos George 
Published: December 2009

Herpesviridae comprises a large family of double-stranded DNA viruses that infect both animals and humans. Eight herpseviruses are known to infect humans: herpes simplex virus type-1 and -2, varicella zoster virus, human cytomegalovirus, Epstein–Barr virus, human herpesvirus 6 type-A and -B, human herpesvirus type-7 and -8 or Kaposi's sarcoma virus.Despite the fact that the past two decades have been evolutionary in the development of antiviral agents, therapeutic choices are restricted by limited efficacy and toxicity. Viral infections remain the cause of significant mortality worldwide, thus indicating the high medical need for the introduction of novel promising compounds in the antiviral chemotherapy era.This review focuses on recent data regarding several novel groups of agents that have proved to be effective as antiherpetic drugs. The agents mentioned are those considered to be the most likely candidates for entering clinical trials and those in the process of being granted approval by the US Food and Drug Administration. The diversity in their molecular mechanism of action highlights the different perspectives currently encountered in the era of antiviral therapy.
Inégalités de Milnor–Wood géométriques
Authors: Besson Gérard , Courtois Gilles , Gallot Sylvestre 
Published: December 2009

Nous prouvons une généralisation de la célèbre inégalité de Milnor–Wood. Si Y est une variété riemannienne fermée, nous considérons une représentation de son groupe fondamental dans le groupe d'isométries d'une espace symétrique X de même dimension. Lorsque X est le produit d'espaces symétriques de courbure strictement négative et de dimension strictement supérieure à 2, nous démontrons une majoration du volume de cette représentation par un nombre calculé à l'aide des entropies volumiques de Y et X. Le cas d'égalité est étudié et donne un théorème de rigidité. Ensuite nous décrivons des exemples de représentations de volume non nul. En dimension 3 l'inégalité ci-dessus donne une preuve simple d'un théorème dû à Soma montrant la finitude du nombre de variétés hyperboliques fermées dominées par une même variété fermée.
We prove a generalisation of the celebrated Milnor–Wood inequality. If Y is a closed Riemannian manifold, we consider a representation of its fundamental group into the isometry group of a symmetric space of the same dimension. When X is the product of symmetric spaces of negative curvature and of dimension greater than 2, we prove an upper bound of the volume of this representation computed in terms of the volume entropies of Y and X. The case of equality is studied and gives rise to a rigidity theorem. We then describe examples of representations of non-zero volume. In dimension 3 the inequality gives a simple proof of a theorem due to Soma showing the finiteness of the number of closed hyperbolic manifolds dominated by the same closed manifold.
Théorie d'Iwasawa des représentations cristallines II
Authors: Benois Denis , Berger Laurent 
Published: December 2009

Let

K

be a finite unramified extension of

ℚ_p

and let

V

be a crystalline representation of

\mathrm{Gal}(\bar ℚ_p/K)

. In this article, we give a proof of the

C_{\mathrm{EP}}(L,V)

conjecture for

L⊂ ℚ_p^{\mathrm{ab}}

as well as a proof of its equivariant version

C_{\mathrm{EP}}(L/K,V)

for

L⊂ \bigcup_{n = 1}^∞ K(ζ_{p^n})

. The main ingredients are the

δ_{ℤ_p(V)}

conjecture about the integrality of Perrin–Riou's exponential, which we prove using the theory of

(φ,Γ)

-modules, and Iwasawa-theoretic descent techniques used to show that

δ_{ℤ_p(V)}

implies

C_{\mathrm{EP}}(L/K,V)

.

Résumé

Soit

K

une extension finie non-ramifiée de

ℚ_p

et

V

une représentation cristalline de

\mathrm{Gal}(\bar ℚ_p/K)

. Dans cet article, on montre la conjecture

C_{\mathrm{EP}}(L,V)

pour

L⊂ ℚ_p^{\mathrm{ab}}

et sa version équivariante

C_{\mathrm{EP}}(L/K,V)

pour

L⊂ \bigcup_{n = 1}^∞ K(ζ_{p^n})

. Les principaux ingrédients sont la conjecture

δ_{ℤ_p(V)}

sur l'intégralité de l'exponentielle de Perrin–Riou, que nous démontrons en utilisant la théorie des

(φ,Γ)

-modules, et des techniques de descente en théorie d'Iwasawa pour montrer que

δ_{ℤ_p(V)}

implique

C_{\mathrm{EP}}(L/K,V)

.
Stability of monolayers and bilayers in a copolymer-homopolymer blend model
Authors: van Gennip Yves , Peletier Mark A. 
Published: December 2009

We study the stability of layered structures in a variational model for diblock copolymerhomopolymer blends with respect to perturbations of their interfaces. The main step consists of calculating the ﬁrst and second derivatives of a sharp-interface Ohta–Kawasaki energy for straight mono- and bilayers and determining the sign of the latter. By developing the interface perturbations in a Fourier series we fully characterise the stability of the structures in terms of the energy parameters. Both for the monolayer and for the bilayer there exist parameter regions where these structures are unstable. For strong repulsive interaction between the monomer types in the diblock copolymer the bilayer is always stable with respect to interface perturbations, irrespective of the domain size. The monolayer is only stable for small domain size.
In the course of our computations we also give a Green’s function for the Laplacian on a twodimensional periodic strip.
Mini-Workshop: Classification of Surfaces of General Type with Small Invariants
Authors: Catanese Fabrizio , Ciliberto Ciro 
Published: December 2009

This mini-workshop has been organized by Fabrizio Catanese and Ciro Ciliberto. Unfortunately Catanese was unable to participate.
The classification of algebraic surfaces is a long-standing research subject in algebraic geometry, started by Castelnuovo and Enriques more than one hundred years ago, and continued by the Italian school (Severi, de Franchis, etc.) until about 1950.
In more recent times, fundamental contributions have been given by Kodaira in the 1950's and later in the 1970's by Bombieri, whose works on pluricanonical maps gave a strong impulse in studying surfaces of general type, and Mumford.
Adding important information to classical results by Noether and Castelnuovo, sharp bounds on the invariants have been given by Miyaoka and Bogomolov–Yau, allowing many authors to develop a systematic study of the “geography” of surfaces of general type.
Interesting investigations about the moduli space of surfaces of general type have been worked out in the last twenty years by Catanese, Manetti, and others.
Despite the intensive effort made in the last decades in order to make more precise our knowledge about surfaces of general type, their fine classification is still an open problem, even for small invariants. It is actually rather embarassing that, after more than one century of research on the subject, a complete classification of surfaces with geometric genus zero or one is still lacking.
This mini-workshop carried together 14 mathematicians actively working on this subject, and related arguments, with the idea of updating the state-of-the-art, exchanging information, discussing interesting open problems and stimulating collaborations. In this respect, the workshop has been very successful.
The atmosphere has been lively and very collaborative. During every talk, several questions have been posed and interesting problems pointed out. It has been especially remarkable the active presence of young participants.
During the week, 16 formal lectures have been given by the participants. This report contains extended abstracts of all the talks and also a contribution by Catanese, in collaboration with Pignatelli, about the lecture he was supposed to give.

The topics include: pluri-canonical maps for surfaces of general type (M. Mendes Lopes), canonical rings, projective embeddings and birational techniques (C. Böhning, F. Catanese, S. Papadakis, U. Persson, R. Pignatelli), irregular surfaces with low invariants (F. Polizzi, F. Zucconi), surfaces with

p_g=0

(A. Calabri, C. Ciliberto, K. Keum, M. Mendes Lopes, C. Werner), general techniques (V. Brînzănescu, K. Konno). Ulf Persson chaired an “open problem and discussions” session, which especially concerned surfaces with

p_g=0

.

The organizers thank the Institute staff for providing a comfortable environment to the participants.
Analysis and Design of Electoral Systems
Authors: Balinski Michel L. , Brams Steven J. , Pukelsheim Friedrich 
Published: December 2009

Electoral systems transform numbers into numbers. In order not to be blinded by the intricacies of any particular case, as interesting as particular cases may be, it is imperative to view theses transformations as functions, or as relations, and to study their properties and structure in their full generality. Promoting the mathematical foundations of the topic cannot be a goal in and for itself, but must reflect the practical needs defined by the problems themselves that are traditionally treated by such non-mathematical fields as political science, economics, social choice theory, constitutional law, etc. This diversity was well reflected in the expert fields represented by the conference participants, as well as in the wide range of topics covered. They may broadly be summarized under three headings: (1) voting schemes that aggregate many individual preference rankings of a given set of alternatives into a single global ranking; (2) proportional representation schemes that map vote counts (or population counts) into parliamentary representation; and (3) the determination of electoral districts that reasonably reflect geographical, political, and social structures.While mathematics at large provides the appropriate language to investigate these problems, the tools that are used draw on specific mathematical fields, including:
The mathematical analysis of electoral systems has direct repercussions on current political issues. To mention but three, there is the question whether elections of the US president would be less likely to be disputed, and their outcomes considered more legitimate, were he to be elected directly. Another is the analysis of qualified majority rules in the EU Council of Ministers as stipulated in the draft constitution proposed by the European Convention 2003. A third relates to developing biproportional apportionment methods that simultaneously accommodate partisan and regional representation of the entire electorate.
Somewhat unusual for an Oberwolfach conference was the rather broad mix of participants, representing the fields of mathematics, physics, economics, political science, and psychology. It was this breadth that virtually all participants experienced as challenging and fruitful. As always, the atmosphere was congenial for scientific discussions, and the Institute in its Schwarzwald setting made people feel creative by just being there... particularly so, since the sky was blue and the sun was shining (most of the time).
M.L. Balinski
S.J. Brams
F. Pukelsheim
Probability Theory on Trees and Analysis of Algorithms
Authors: Alsmeyer Gerold , Devroye Luc , Rösler Uwe 
Published: December 2009

The analysis of algorithms and data structures, started by D. Knuth, is a rapidly growing area at the interface of Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science. Probability theory enters the subject in a natural way when studying an algorithm as to its performance over randomized inputs and/or if an algorithm itself takes randomization steps. The latter holds true for so-called divide and conquer algorithms, which were a central topic of this workshop. The sorting algorithm is presumably the most prominent example. While early work was mostly based on the generating function approach, the last two decades have seen an increasing number of contributions based on probabilistic methods involving martingales, random trees and other stochastic processes. The first article of this type was written in the eighties by L. Devroye, a Humboldt award winner of 2004 and also one of the organizers. Later another pioneering contribution came by U. Rösler who, by introducing weighted branching processes and the contraction method, determined the asymptotic distributional behavior of . One can say that much of the work presented at this workshop is to some extent spawn by these articles.
The aim and scope of the mini-workshop was to bring together leading junior and senior experts in the field with a strong probabilistic background and a focus on divide an conquer algorithms and related data structures. There were 16 one hour talks presented by 12 of the 14 participants from 7 countries. Main topics were branching processes, the contraction method, the asymptotic analysis of random trees, stochastic fixed point equations and randomized algorithms.
Theory of the Riemann Zeta and Allied Functions
Authors: Huxley Martin N. , Jutila Matti , Motohashi Yoichi , Patterson Samuel J. 
Published: December 2009

This meeting, the second Oberwolfach workshop devoted to zeta functions, was attended by 42 participants representing 16 countries. The scientific program consisted of 32 talks of various lengths and a problem session. In addition, social activities were organised: a hike in the mountains and piano recitals by Peter Elliott and Valentin Blomer.
Since the times of Dirichlet and Riemann, zeta functions and Dirichlet series have played a central role in analytic number theory, and in recent times connections have been found with other areas of mathematics and its applications, including theoretical physics. The talks represented the various aspects of the theory of zeta functions. In particular, the following topics were discussed, among others:
The History of Differential Equations, 1670–1950
Authors: Archibald Tom , Fraser Craig , Grattan-Guinness Ivor 
Published: December 2009

Differential equations have been a major branch of pure and applied mathematics since their inauguration in the mid 17th century. While their history has been well studied, it remains a vital field of on-going investigation, with the emergence of new connections with other parts of mathematics, fertile interplay with applied subjects, interesting reformulation of basic problems and theory in various periods, new vistas in the 20th century, and so on. In this meeting we considered some of the principal parts of this story, from the launch with Newton and Leibniz up to around 1950.
‘Differential equations’ began with Leibniz, the Bernoulli brothers and others from the 1680s, not long after Newton's ‘fluxional equations’ in the 1670s. Applications were made largely to geometry and mechanics; isoperimetrical problems were exercises in optimisation.
Most 18th-century developments consolidated the Leibnizian tradition, extending its multi-variate form, thus leading to partial differential equations. Generalisation of isoperimetrical problems led to the calculus of variations. New figures appeared, especially Euler, Daniel Bernoulli, Lagrange and Laplace. Development of the general theory of solutions included singular ones, functional solutions and those by infinite series. Many applications were made to mechanics, especially to astronomy and continuous media.
In the 19th century: general theory was enriched by development of the understanding of general and particular solutions, and of existence theorems. More types of equation and their solutions appeared; for example, Fourier analysis and special functions. Among new figures, Cauchy stands out. Applications were now made not only to classical mechanics but also to heat theory, optics, electricity and magnetism, especially with the impact of Maxwell. Later Poincaré introduced recurrence theorems, initially in connection with the three-body problem.
In the 20th century: general theory was influenced by the arrival of set theory in mathematical analysis; with consequences for theorisation, including further topological aspects. New applications were made to quantum mathematics, dynamical systems and relativity theory.
Topological and Variational Methods for Differential Equations
Authors: Bartsch Thomas , Dancer Andrew 
Published: December 2009

Topological and variational methods have been at the core of nonlinear analysis for a long time and are still experiencing major new developments. They have had enormous new applications in the study of boundary value problems for nonlinear differential equations, in analyzing complicated (possibly infinite-dimensional) dynamics, phase transition and pattern formation, to name a few.
The workshop was mainly dedicated to variational methods for nonlinear elliptic and parabolic differential equations and systems with a special emphasis on
The workshop was attended by 47 mathematicians from 17 countries (from the Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe). During the five days 27 talks were delivered, both from leading researchers as well as young mathematicians. There was plenty of time for discussions and cooperative work in small groups outside the scheduled lecture time. This led to a fruitful and intensive scientific exchange between the participants. Many open problems were discussed and many collaborative projects were started or continued during this week. Many of the abstracts below list some open problems, thus guiding future research. We received a great deal of positive feedback from the participants and are sure that this workshop will lead to further collaboration between the participants.
It is our pleasure to thank the administration and staff of the MFO for their efficient work and their hospitality which was essential for the stimulating atmosphere during the workshop.
Dynamics of Cocycles and One-Dimensional Spectral Theory
Authors: Damanik David , Johnson Russell , Lenz H. Daniel 
Published: December 2009

The mini-workshop
Dynamics of Cocycles and One-Dimensional Spectral Theory
, organised by David Damanik (Pasadena), Russell Johnson (Firenze) and Daniel Lenz (Chemnitz), was held November 13–19, 2005.

There have been a number of recent breakthroughs in the spectral theory of one-dimensional Schrödinger operators with quasi-periodic potentials that were accomplished using sophisticated dynamical systems methods; especially by establishing reducibility properties of certain quasi-periodic

\mathrm{SL}(2,\R)

-valued cocycles.

The most popular example of a one-dimensional Schrödinger operators with quasi-periodic potential is given by the almost Mathieu operator,

[H u]_n = u_{n+1} + u_{n-1} + 2\lambda \cos (2\pi (n\alpha + \theta)) u_n,

where

\lambda \not= 0

and

\alpha

is irrational. Using the connection with dynamics, it was recently shown for all parameter values that the spectrum of

H

is a Cantor set of Lebesgue measure

|4 - 4 |\lambda||

.

It was the objective of the mini-workshop to bring together experts from both spectral theory and dynamical systems to learn from each other and to further explore potential applications of dynamical systems methods in the context of quasi-periodic Schrödinger operators. Special attention was paid to having many young participants. This was made easy by the fact that currently there are many excellent graduate students and postdocs working on problems located at the interface between the two areas. Consequently, about two thirds of the participants belonged to the age group 35 years or younger.
The talks presented by the participants reflected the current developments in this area. Among other things, there is now an improved understanding of analytic potentials with non-perturbatively small coupling, there are extensions of some results known for analytic potentials to certain classes of non-analytic potentials, while phenomena different from those in the analytic case may occur for potentials of low regularity, and there is improved understanding of the case of Liouville frequencies.
Among the highlights of the discussions outside the talks one could mention the “joining” of independent and closely related work of Bjerklöv and Jäger and the solution by Avila and Damanik of one of the few questions about the almost Mathieu operator that were still left open after the recent advances triggering the mini-workshop.