On the intersection problem for 1-factorizations and near 1-factorizations of K-v

The number of 1-factors (near 1-factors) that mu 1-factorizations (near 1-factorizations) of the complete graph K-v, v even (v odd), can have in common, is studied. The problem is completely settled for mu = 2 and mu = 3.

On the Oberwolfach problem with two similar length cycles

For all in greater than or equal to 3, the Oberwolfach problem is solved for the case where the 2-factors consist of two cycles of lengths in and m + 1, and for the case where the 2-factors consist of two cycles of lengths m and m + 2.

The increasing problem of hepatitis C virus infection

The widespread incidence of hepatitis C (HCV) infection throughout the community is of concern. Although many of those infected will not suffer significantly from their infection, up to one-third will have liver disease, fatigue and oral health problems. General dental practitioners need to be aware of the precautions necessary in treating people with severe liver disease. This paper discusses the issues associated with treating patients who have HCV infection including the importance of preventive programs to reduce dental pathology and maximise oral health.

Hemiplegic shoulder pain: defining the problem and its management

Purpose: Hemiplegic shoulder pain can affect up to 70% of stroke patients and can have an adverse impact on rehabilitation outcomes. This article aims to review the literature on the suggested causes of hemiplegic shoulder pain and the therapeutic techniques that can be used to prevent or treat it. On the basis of this review, the components of an optimal management programme for hemiplegic shoulder pain are explored. Method: English language articles in the CINAHL and MEDLINE databases between 1990 and 2000 were reviewed. These were supplemented by citation tracking and manual searches. Results: A management programme for hemiplegic shoulder pain could comprise the following components: provision of an external support for the affected upper limb when the patient is seated, careful positioning in bed, daily static positional stretches, motor retraining and strapping of the scapula to maintain postural tone and symmetry. Conclusions: Research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of the components of the proposed management programme for the prevention and treatment of hemiplegic shoulder pain and to determine in what combination they achieve the best outcomes.

MapScript: A map algebra programming language incorporating neighborhood analysis

Map algebra is a data model and simple functional notation to study the distribution and patterns of spatial phenomena. It uses a uniform representation of space as discrete grids, which are organized into layers. This paper discusses extensions to map algebra to handle neighborhood operations with a new data type called a template. Templates provide general windowing operations on grids to enable spatial models for cellular automata, mathematical morphology, and local spatial statistics. A programming language for map algebra that incorporates templates and special processing constructs is described. The programming language is called MapScript. Example program scripts are presented to perform diverse and interesting neighborhood analysis for descriptive, model-based and processed-based analysis.

Development and implementation of the population Fisher information matrix for the evaluation of population pharmacokinetic designs.

In population pharmacokinetic studies, the precision of parameter estimates is dependent on the population design. Methods based on the Fisher information matrix have been developed and extended to population studies to evaluate and optimize designs. In this paper we propose simple programming tools to evaluate population pharmacokinetic designs. This involved the development of an expression for the Fisher information matrix for nonlinear mixed-effects models, including estimation of the variance of the residual error. We implemented this expression as a generic function for two software applications: S-PLUS and MATLAB. The evaluation of population designs based on two pharmacokinetic examples from the literature is shown to illustrate the efficiency and the simplicity of this theoretic approach. Although no optimization method of the design is provided, these functions can be used to select and compare population designs among a large set of possible designs, avoiding a lot of simulations.

Light guiding light: Nonlinear refraction in rubidium vapor

Recently there has been experimental and theoretical interest in cross-dispersion effects in rubidium vapor, which allows one beam of light to be guided by another. We present theoretical results which account for the complications created by the D line hyperfine structure of rubidium as well as the presence of the two major isotopes of rubidium. This allows the complex frequency dependence of the effects observed in our experiments to be understood and lays the foundation for future studies of nonlinear propagation.