We will review some of the major results in random graphs and some of the more challenging open problems. We will cover algorithmic and structural questions. We will touch on newer models, including those related to the WWW.

Random graphs

BackgroundSpecific dietary and other lifestyle behaviors may affect the success of the straightforward-sounding strategy “eat less and exercise more” for preventing long-term weight gain. MethodsWe performed prospective investigations involving three separate cohorts that included 120,877 U.S. women and men who were free of chronic diseases and not obese at baseline, with follow-up periods from 1986 to 2006, 1991 to 2003, and 1986 to 2006. The relationships between changes in lifestyle factors and weight change were evaluated at 4-year intervals, with multivariable adjustments made for age, baseline body-mass index for each period, and all lifestyle factors simultaneously. Cohort-specific and sex-specific results were similar and were pooled with the use of an inverse-variance–weighted meta-analysis. ResultsWithin each 4-year period, participants gained an average of 3.35 lb (5th to 95th percentile, −4.1 to 12.4). On the basis of increased daily servings of individual dietary components, 4-year weight cha...

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Changes in Diet and Lifestyle and Long-Term Weight Gain in Women and Men

Background Nasal carriers of Staphylococcus aureus are at increased risk for health care–associated infections with this organism. Decolonization of nasal and extranasal sites on hospital admission may reduce this risk. Methods In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial, we assessed whether rapid identification of S. aureus nasal carriers by means of a real-time polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) assay, followed by treatment with mupirocin nasal ointment and chlorhexidine soap, reduces the risk of hospital-associated S. aureus infection. Results From October 2005 through June 2007, a total of 6771 patients were screened on admission. A total of 1270 nasal swabs from 1251 patients were positive for S. aureus. We enrolled 917 of these patients in the intention-to-treat analysis, of whom 808 (88.1%) underwent a surgical procedure. All the S. aureus strains identified on PCR assay were susceptible to methicillin and mupirocin. The rate of S. aureus infection was 3.4% (17 of 504 patients) in the mupirocin–chlorhexidine group, as compared with 7.7% (32 of 413 patients) in the placebo group (relative risk of infection, 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23 to 0.75). The effect of mupirocin–chlorhexidine treatment was most pronounced for deep surgical-site infections (relative risk, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.62). There was no significant difference in all-cause in-hospital mortality between the two groups. The time to the onset of nosocomial infection was shorter in the placebo group than in the mupirocin–chlorhexidine group (P = 0.005). Conclusions The number of surgical-site S. aureus infections acquired in the hospital can be reduced by rapid screening and decolonizing of nasal carriers of S. aureus on admission. (Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN56186788.)

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Preventing Surgical-Site Infections in Nasal Carriers of Staphylococcus aureus

The understanding of nature and nurture within developmental science has evolved with alternating ascendance of one or the other as primary explanations for individual differences in life course trajectories of success or failure. A dialectical perspective emphasizing the interconnectedness of individual and context is suggested to interpret the evolution of developmental science in similar terms to those necessary to explain the development of individual children. A unified theory of development is proposed to integrate personal change, context, regulation, and representational models of development.

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A Unified Theory of Development: A Dialectic Integration of Nature and Nurture

Emotion has a substantial influence on the cognitive processes in humans, including perception, attention, learning, memory, reasoning, and problem solving. Emotion has a particularly strong influence on attention, especially modulating the selectivity of attention as well as motivating action and behavior. This attentional and executive control is intimately linked to learning processes, as intrinsically limited attentional capacities are better focused on relevant information. Emotion also facilitates encoding and helps retrieval of information efficiently. However, the effects of emotion on learning and memory are not always univalent, as studies have reported that emotion either enhances or impairs learning and long-term memory (LTM) retention, depending on a range of factors. Recent neuroimaging findings have indicated that the amygdala and prefrontal cortex cooperate with the medial temporal lobe in an integrated manner that affords (i) the amygdala modulating memory consolidation; (ii) the prefrontal cortex mediating memory encoding and formation; and (iii) the hippocampus for successful learning and LTM retention. We also review the nested hierarchies of circular emotional control and cognitive regulation (bottom-up and top-down influences) within the brain to achieve optimal integration of emotional and cognitive processing. This review highlights a basic evolutionary approach to emotion to understand the effects of emotion on learning and memory and the functional roles played by various brain regions and their mutual interactions in relation to emotional processing. We also summarize the current state of knowledge on the impact of emotion on memory and map implications for educational settings. In addition to elucidating the memory-enhancing effects of emotion, neuroimaging findings extend our understanding of emotional influences on learning and memory processes; this knowledge may be useful for the design of effective educational curricula to provide a conducive learning environment for both traditional "live" learning in classrooms and "virtual" learning through online-based educational technologies.

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The Influences of Emotion on Learning and Memory.

The generalized k-connectivity κk(G) of a graph G was introduced by Chartrand et al. in 1984. In this paper, we introduce the concept of generalized k-edge-connectivity λk(G). For general k, the generalized k-edge-connectivity of a complete graph is obtained, and Nordhaus-Gaddum-type results for the generalized k-connectivity and generalized k-edge-connectivity are also obtained. For k = 3, we study the relation between the edge-connectivity and the generalized 3-edge-connectivity of a graph. We give upper and lower bounds of λ3(G) for a graph G in terms of the edge-connectivity λ of G, that is 3λ−2 4 ≤ λ3(G) ≤ λ, and two graph classes are given showing that the upper and lower bounds are sharp. From these bounds, we obtain two results: one is λ(G) − 1 ≤ λ3(G) ≤ λ(G) if G is a connected planar graph, the other is the relation between the generalized 3-connectivity and generalized 3-edge-connectivity of a graph and its line graph.

The generalized edge-connectivity and generalized connectivity of graphs

A path in an edge-colored graph $G$ is called monochromatic if any two edges on the path have the same color. For $k\geq 2$, an edge-colored graph $G$ is said to be monochromatic $k$-edge-connected if every two distinct vertices of $G$ are connected by at least $k$ edge-disjoint monochromatic paths, and $G$ is said to be uniformly monochromatic $k$-edge-connected if every two distinct vertices are connected by at least $k$ edge-disjoint monochromatic paths such that all edges of these $k$ paths colored with a same color. We use $mc_k(G)$ and $umc_k(G)$ to denote the maximum number of colors that ensures $G$ to be monochromatic $k$-edge-connected and, respectively, $G$ to be uniformly monochromatic $k$-edge-connected. In this paper, we first conjecture that for any $k$-edge-connected graph $G$, $mc_k(G)=e(G)-e(H)+\lfloor\frac{k}{2}\rfloor$, where $H$ is a minimum $k$-edge-connected spanning subgraph of $G$. We verify the conjecture for $k=2$. We also prove the conjecture for $G=K_{k+1}$ when $k\geq4$ is even, and for $G=K_{k,n}$ when $k\geq4$ is even, or when $k=3$ and $n\geq k$. When $G$ is a minimal $k$-edge-connected graph, we give an upper bound of $mc_k(G)$, i.e., $mc_k(G)\leq k-1$, and $mc_k(G)\leq \lfloor\frac{k}{2}\rfloor$ when $G=K_{k,n}$. For the uniformly monochromatic $k$-edge-connectivity, we prove that for all $k$, $umc_k(G)=e(G)-e(H)+1$, where $H$ is a minimum $k$-edge-connected spanning subgraph of $G$.

Monochromatic $k$-edge-connection colorings of graphs

Upper Boundsand Extreme Results for Conflict-free Vertexconnection Number

In this paper, we first reduce the problem of finding a minimum parity (g,f)-factor of a graph G into the problem of finding a minimum perfect matching in a weighted simple graph G*. Using the structure of G*, a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of an even factor is derived.

A Characterization of Graphs without Even Factors

Let $G$ be an edge-colored connected graph. A path $P$ in $G$ is called a distance $\ell$-proper path if no two edges of the same color can appear with less than $\ell$ edges in between on $P$. The graph $G$ is called $(k,\ell)$-proper connected if there is an edge-coloring such that every pair of distinct vertices of $G$ are connected by $k$ pairwise internally vertex-disjoint distance $\ell$-proper paths in $G$. The minimum number of colors needed to make $G$ $(k,\ell)$-proper connected is called the $(k,\ell)$-proper connection number of $G$ and denoted by $pc_{k,\ell}(G)$. In this paper we first focus on the $(1,2)$-proper connection number of $G$ depending on some constraints of $\overline G$. Then, we characterize the graphs of order $n$ with $(1,2)$-proper connection number $n-1$ or $n-2$. Using this result, we investigate the Nordhaus-Gaddum-Type problem of $(1,2)$-proper connection number and prove that $pc_{1,2}(G)+pc_{1,2}(\overline{G})\leq n+2$ for connected graphs $G$ and $\overline{G}$. The equality holds if and only if $G$ or $\overline{G}$ is isomorphic to a double star.

Xueliang Li

Papers

The generalized edge-connectivity and generalized connectivity of graphs

Monochromatic $k$-edge-connection colorings of graphs

Upper Boundsand Extreme Results for Conflict-free Vertexconnection Number

A Characterization of Graphs without Even Factors

Distance proper connection of graphs and their complements