Dynamical phenomena in complex networks: fundamentals and applications

This special issue presents a series of 33 contributions in the area of dynamical networks and their applications. Part of the contributions is devoted to theoretical and methodological aspects of dynamical networks, such as collective dynamics of excitable systems, spreading processes, coarsening, synchronization, delayed interactions, and others. A particular focus is placed on applications to neuroscience and Earth science, especially functional climate networks. Among the highlights, various methods for dealing with noise and stochastic processes in neuroscience are presented. A method for constructing weighted networks with arbitrary topologies from a single dynamical node with delayed feedback is introduced. Also, a generalization of the concept of geodesic distances, a path-integral formulation of network-based measures is developed, which provides fundamental insights into the dynamics of disease transmission. The contributions from the Earth science application field substantiate predictive power of climate networks to study challenging Earth processes and phenomena.

Exploring the perception of forensic science among police investigators in Nigeria: The role of sociodemographic markers

Underlining the application of forensic science methods in police investigations is investigators’ perceptions of the methods. The premise is that a positive perception indicates a willingness to apply forensic science in criminal investigations, regardless of prior forensic training. This study compared common sociodemographic markers with regard to perceptions of forensic science application in criminal investigations among investigating police officers in Nigeria, controlling for forensic training. The six sociodemographic markers were: gender, age, marital status, highest educational qualification, rank, and years in service. The survey used a self-administered questionnaire for data collection. Based on a total population of 3771 investigating police officers, a sample size of 347 was determined using Krejcie and Morgan’s formula ( Krejcie RV and Morgan DW (1970) Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement 30(3): 607–610). A potential 20% dropout rate was added giving a sample size of 416. No difference was found across the sociodemographic markers with regards to the perception of forensic science utilization in criminal investigations ( p > .05), except for the highest educational qualification ( p = .008) and rank ( p = .042) of the respondents. The perception score was higher in the primary school category than in the secondary school and diploma certificate categories. Comparison between the categories secondary certificate and degree/HND certificate indicated a statistically significant lower perception score in the secondary certificate category. The perception score was lower in the diploma category than in the degree/HND certificate and postgraduate categories. For police rank, pairwise comparison showed that the officer category had a higher perception score than the constable category. There was also a statistically significant higher perception of forensic science among inspectors than among constables. It is recommended that educational qualification and rank should be considered when deploying police personnel to the criminal investigation department.

Analysis of Weather Forecasting Techniques

Weather forecasting is one of the important science application in our daily planning activities. This application has played a significant role to humans from a long time. Every human relied on their philosophical experience and other weather phenomenon to predict the weather and infer what was coming their way. This was the knowledge gathered over many years observations and has been passed from one generation to another. To predict the future’s weather condition, the variation in the conditions in past year must be utilized. The probability that the weather condition of the day in consideration will match the same day in previous year is very less. But the probability that it will match within the spam of adjacent fortnight of previous year is very high. In this paper, we analyse the use of various data mining techniques in forecasting maximum temperature, rainfall and wind speed.

Stalagmites: from Science Application to Museumization

The concept of geoheritage is related to places of geological interest, generally of aesthetic, cultural, socio-economic and/or scientific value. Many geosites are of karstic nature, because of their intrinsic beauty, their singularity and high geodiversity. Caves are among the most visited and economically exploited geological landforms. They constitute geosites as a whole, with their scenic landscapes, hydrogeological importance and the presence of bewildering natural rock and mineral formations including stalactites, stalagmites, flowstones and many other bizarre speleothem shapes. In some cases, a single speleothem, and the palaeoclimate record it contains, can be on its own of extraordinary importance to science. Once studied, these samples are often stored in research institution collections, rarely accessible to the wide public. In this paper, we report on the museumization of a stalagmite that has delivered a unique and exceptionally long glacial climate record from southern Italy, shedding light on the causes that led to the Neanderthal contraction and Modern Human expansion in this mild Mediterranean climate between 45 and 42 thousands years ago. The proposed museumization aims to demonstrate the potential of speleothems, after scientific application, in terms of educational and tourist resources. This approach allows to highlight the scientific importance of karst and cave geosites to the wide public, promoting their conservation and the valorisation of the studied cave-material.

Lockdown Litter: A critical analysis of global COVID-19 PPE litter and measures for mitigation

Personal protection equipment was adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce transmission of the virus. However, masks, gloves and wipes must be disposed of responsibly. Anecdotal accounts of litter throughout 2020 suggest an environmental legacy to mismanaged PPE. Here we show the emergence of COVID-related litter over a 14-month period using the citizen science application Litterati. Observational data suggests that face mask litter became a new litter type as a result of COVID-19 legislation, increasing from <0.01% to over 0.8% in the countries observed. Glove and wipe litter was already prevalent at around 0.2% prior to the pandemic, doubling to around 0.4% throughout the pandemic. Citizen science enabled observation of littering behaviours between nations, highlighting where transferable practice could be beneficial in reducing littering impacts in other nations.

A COMPARISON OF BRIHATTRAYEE AND YOGIC DARSHANA

Yoga Darshana and Ayurveda being contemporary sciences have influenced and complemented each other. The concepts of Yoga Darshana are selectively incorporated in Ayurveda to suit its objectives viz., ‘Swasthya Rakshana’ and ‘Roga Prashamana.’ Most of the concepts of yoga are accepted as such, some are modified for the medical science. Application of the concepts of yoga in conjunction with Ayurveda enhances the therapeutic application of both the contemporary systems of healing. Ayurveda provides the appropriate lifestyle recommendations for Yoga practice, as well as the background to unfold the full healing potential of all aspects of Yoga. It is important to integrate Yoga and Ayurveda in order to bring out a complete holistic healing system. Integrating Yoga with Ayurveda adds a spiritual and psychological dimension to Ayurvedic treatment modalities, without which Ayurveda tends to become a mere physical model devoid of spiritual and Vedic healing powers. Ayurveda focuses on individual’ constitution or body type which is referred to as Prakriti. It is defined as expression of a person in context to morpholo-gy, physiology, behavior and relation to ecology. The application of Tattvas of Yoga Darshana in Ayur-veda finds similarity in some contexts and dissimilarity in others, which are elaborated in the article and along with This Yoga Asanas according to the specific constitution of an individual is cited in this article.

NASA Space Weather Science Application Strategy and Activities

&lt;p&gt;The NASA Heliophysics Division Space Weather Science Application (SWxSA) program has as its strategic mission to establish a preeminent space weather capability that supports human and robotic space exploration and meets national, international, and societal needs. This is done by advancing measurement and analysis techniques and expanding knowledge and understanding that improves space weather forecasts and nowcasts. Ultimately, the SWxSA program enables space weather forecasting capability that the Agency and Nation and international community require, in partnership with NASA&amp;#8217;s Artemis Program and other Federal agencies, and international partners. This includes the development and launch of missions/instruments that advance our knowledge of space weather and improve its prediction, and the transitioning of technology, tools, models, data, and knowledge from research to operational environments. This presentation will provide an update on NASA&amp;#8217;s SWxSA space weather strategy and activities.&lt;/p&gt;