We prove a Liouville type theorem for sign-changing radial solutions of a subcritical semilinear heat equation $u_t=\Delta u+{\left|u\right|}^{p-1}u$. We use this theorem to derive a priori bounds, decay estimates, and initial and final blow-up rates for radial solutions of rather general semilinear parabolic equations whose nonlinearities have a subcritical polynomial growth. Further consequences on the existence of steady states and time-periodic solutions are also shown.

The paper surveys recent results obtained for the existence and multiplicity of radial solutions of Dirichlet problems of the type $$\nabla ·\left(\frac{\nabla v}{\sqrt{1-{\left|\nabla v\right|}^2}}\right)=f\left(\right|x|,v)\text{in}{B}_R,u=0\text{on}\partial B_R,$$ where $B_R$ is the open ball of center $0$ and radius $R$ in ${ℝ}^n$, and $f$ is continuous. Comparison is made with similar results for the Laplacian. Topological and variational methods are used and the case of positive solutions is emphasized. The paper ends with the case of a general domain.