If $f:\tilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}}\rightarrow \unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ is a covering map between connected graphs, and $H$ is the subgroup of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70B}_{1}(\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4},v)$ used to construct the cover, then it is well known that the group of deck transformations of the cover is isomorphic to $N(H)/H$, where $N(H)$ is the normalizer of $H$ in $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70B}_{1}(\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4},v)$. We show that an entirely analogous result holds for immersions between connected graphs, where the subgroup $H$ is replaced by the closed inverse submonoid of the inverse monoid $L(\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4},v)$ used to construct the immersion. We observe a relationship between group actions on graphs and deck transformations of graph immersions. We also show that a graph immersion $f:\tilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}}\rightarrow \unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ may be extended to a cover $g:\tilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E5}}\rightarrow \unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}$ in such a way that all deck transformations of $f$ are restrictions of deck transformations of $g$.

Thirty-five patients were randomized to extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) and 25 to laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Stone disappearance occurred in only 12 of 32 ESWL patients [38% (95% Cl: 21–56%)] during a 15-month follow-up. Greater incremental gains in quality of life after 6 months were observed among LC patients (p <.01). Total duration of disability was 6.8 ± 8.5 days for ESWL, and 22.7 ± 16.6 days for LC (p <.01). Nine (28%) patients crossed over electively to the LC group, but only 44% of these underwent LC within the next 3 years. ESWL cost Can $58.9/ day of disability saved. ESWL is limited by its selective applicability and modest stone disappearance rate. Its cost-effectiveness is largely dependent on patient acceptance of recurrent episodes of biliary colic due to the persistence of stone fragments.

It has been established by G. Lallement (3) that the set of idempotent-separating congruences on a regular semigroup S coincides with the set ∑() of congruences on S which are contained in Green's equivalence on S. In view of this and Lemma 10.3 of A. H. Clifford and G. B. Preston (1) it is obvious that the maximum idempotent-separating congruence on a regular semigroup S is given by

In (5) the author showed how to construct all inverse semigroups from their trace and semilattice of idempotents: the construction is by means of a family of mappings between ℛ-classes of the semigroup which we refer to as the structure mappings of the semigroup. In (7) (see also (8) and (9)) K. S. S. Nambooripad has adopted a similar approach to the structure of regular semigroups: he shows how to construct regular semigroups from their trace and biordered set of idempotents by means of a family of mappings between ℛ-classes and between ℒ-classes of the semigroup which we again refer to as the structure mappings of the semigroup. In the present paper we aim to provide a simpler set of axioms characterising the structure mappings on a regular semigroup than the axioms (R1)-(R7) of Nambooripad (9). Two major differences occur between Nambooripad's approach (9) and the approach adopted here: first, we consider the set of idempotents of our semigroups to be equipped with a partial regular band structure (in the sense of Clifford (3)) rather than a biorder structure, and second, we shall enlarge the set of structure mappings used by Nambooripad.

We establish a one-to-one “group-like” correspondence between congruences on a free monoid X* and so-called positively self-conjugate inverse submonoids of the polycyclic monoid P(X). This enables us to translate many concepts in semigroup theory into the language of inverse semigroups.

Let S and T be inverse semigroups. Their free product S inv T is their coproduct in the category of inverse semigroups, defined by the usual commutative diagram. Previous descriptions of free products have been based, like that for the free product of groups, on quotients of the free semigroup product S sgp T. In that framework, a set of canonical forms for S inv T consists of a transversal of the classes of the congruence associated with the quotient. The general result [4] of Jones and previous partial results [3], [5], [6] take this approach.

We say that a regulär semigroup S is a coetension of a (regular) semigroup T by rectangular bands if there is a homomorphism ϕ: S → T from S onto T such that, for each e = e2 ∈ S, e(ϕ ϕ-1) is a rectangular band. Regular semigroups which are coextesions of pseudo-inverse semigroups by rectangular bands may be characterized as those regular semigroups S with the property that, for each e = e2 ∈ S, ω(e) = {f = f2 ∈ S: ef = f} and ωl(e) = {f = f2 ∈ S: fe = f} are bands: this paper is concerned with a study of such semigroups.

If ρ is a congruence on a regular semigroup S, then the kernel of ρ is defined to be the set of ρ-classes which contain idempotents of S. Preston [7] has proved that two congruences on a regular semigroup coincide if and only if they have the same kernel: this naturally poses the problem of characterizing the kernel of a congruence on a regular semigroup and reconstructing the congruence from its kernel. In some sense this problem has been resolved by the author in [5]. Using the well-known theorem of M. Teissier (see for example, A. H. Clifford and G. B. Preston [1], Vol. II, Theorem 10.6), it is possible to characterize the kernel of a congruence on a regular semigroup S as a set A = {Ai: i ∈ I} of subsets of S which satisfy the Teissier-Vagner-Preston conditions:

A semigroup S is called regular if a ∈ aSa for every element a in S. The elementary properties of regular semigroups may be found in A. H. Clifford and G. B. Preston [1]. A semigroup S is called orthodox if S is regular and if the idempotents of S form a subsemigroup of S.

Any congruence on a semigroup S with a nonempty set Es of idempotents induces a partition of the set Es. Two congruences ρ and σ on the semigroup S are defined to be idempotent-equivalent congruences on S if ρ and σ induce the same partition of Es. In this paper we investigate idempotent-equivalent congruences on orthodox semigroups (regular semigroups in which the set of idempotents forms a subsemigroup).