Abstract
The paper introduces and discusses the evolution equation, and, based exclusively on this equation, considers random walk models for the time series available on the daily confirmed Covid-19 cases for different countries. It is shown that a conventional random walk model is not consistent with the current global pandemic time series data, which exhibits non-ergodic properties. A self-affine random walk field model is investigated, derived from the evolutionary equation for a specified memory function which provides the non-ergodic fields evident in the available Covid-19 data. This is based on using a spectral scaling relationship of the type \(1/\omega ^{\alpha }\) where \(\omega \) is the angular frequency and \(\alpha \in (0,1)\) conforms to the absolute values of a normalised zero mean Gaussian distribution. It is shown that \(\alpha \) is a primary parameter for evaluating the global status of the pandemic in the sense that the pandemic will become extinguished as \(\alpha \rightarrow 0\) for all countries. For this reason, and based on the data currently available, a study is made of the variations in \(\alpha \) for 100 randomly selected countries. Finally, in the context of the Bio-dynamic Hypothesis, a parametric model is considered for simulating the three-dimensional structure of a spike protein which may be of value in the development of a vaccine.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Han, et al.: Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (COVID-19) progression course in 17 discharged patients: comparison of clinical and thin-section CT features during recovery. Clin. Infect. Dis. 71(15), 723-731 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa271
Bacaër, N.: McKendrick and Kermack on Epidemic Modelling (1926-1927). In: A Short History of Mathematical Population Dynamics, pp. 89–96. Springer, London (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-115-8_16
Jones, D., Helmreich, S.: A history of herd immunity, perspectives, the art of medicine. The Lancet 396 (2020). https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-67362031924-3/fulltext
Siettos, C.I., Russo, L.: Mathematical Modelling of iInfectious Disease Dynamics, vol. 4(4), pp. 295-306. Taylor & Francis, Virulence (2013). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.4161/viru.24041
Cakan, S.: Dynamic analysis of a mathematical model with health care capacity for COVID-19 pandemic. Chaos, Solit. Fractals 139, 110 033. Elsevier (2020)
Dayaratna, K.: Failures of an Influential COVID-19 Model Used to Justify Lock-downs. The Heritage Foundation. https://www.heritage.org/public-health/commentary/failures-influential-covid-19-model-used-justify-lockdowns. Accessed 21 Sept 2020
Crank, J.: The Mathematics of Diffusion. Clarendon Press, Oxford (1956)
Wyss, W.: The fractional diffusion equation. J . Math. Phys. 27, 2782 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.527251
Blackledge, J.M., Barry, D.: Morphological analysis from images of hyphal growth using a fractional dynamic model. In: Carr, H., Grimstead, I. (eds) EG UK Theory and Practice of Computer Graphics (Warwick University), 17–24 (2011) https://doi.org/10.21427/3ssf-3335
Melin, P., Monica, J.C., Sanchez, D., Castillo, O.: Analysis of spatial spread relationships of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the world using self organizing maps. Chaos, Solit. Fractals, Elsevier 138, 109917–109918 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chaos.2020.109917
Einstein, A.: On the motion of small particles suspended in liquids at rest required by the molecular-kinetic theory of heat. Annalen der Physik 17, 549–560 (2016)
Samorodnitsky, G., Taqqu, M.S.: 1994. Stochastic Models with Infinite Variance, CRC Press, Stable Non-Gaussian Random Processes (1994)9780412051715
Kolmogorov, A.N.: On analytic methods in probability theory. In: Shiryaev, A. N. (ed) Selected Works of A. N. Kolmogorov, Volume II: Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics1992, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 61-108 (1992). Based on the Original: Uber die Analytischen Methoden in der Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung, Math. Ann., 104, 415-458 (1931)
Feller, W.: On boundaries and lateral conditions for the Kolmogorov differential equations. Ann. Math., Second Series 65(3), 527–570 (1957)
Evans, G., Blackledge, J.M., Yardley, P.: Analytic Solutions to Partial Differential Equations, Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series, Springer-Verlag. London (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0379-0
Our World in Data, Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases (2020). https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus-data-explorer?Scale=log&zoomToSelection=true&casesMetric=true&interval=smoothed&aligned=true&smoothing=7&country. Accessed 21 Sept 2020
Papoulis, A.: Probability, pp. 427–442. Random Variables and Stochastic Processes, McGraw-Hill, New York (1991)0-07-048477-5
Turner, M.J., Blackledge, J.M., Andrews: Fractal Geometry in Digital Imaging, Academic Press, P. R. (1998)-10: 0127039708
Giesecke, J.: Why Lockdowns are the Wrong Policy, LockdownTV, Unherd.com/live ,17 April, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfN2JWifLCY&feature=youtu.be. Accessed 20 Sept 2020
Neil A.: Interviews Anders Tegnell - A Second Wave and What Sweden Got Right | SpectatorTV, 18 Sep 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C99MtK4ogM. Accessed 21 Sept 2020
He, J.H.: Fatalness of virus depends upon its cell fractal geometry. Chaos, Solit. Fractals 38, 1390–1393 (2008)
Scripps Research Institute, TSRI Scientists find Clues to Neutralizing Coronaviruses such as MERS, Public Release, 2 March, 2016. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/sri-tsf022916.php. Last accessed 12 August, 2020
Mandelbrot, B.B.: The Fractal Geometry of Nature. W. H, Freeman and Co (1982)0-7167-1186-9
Center’s for Disease Control and Prevention, 1918 Pandemic (H1N1 virus) (2020). https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-pandemic-h1n1.html. Last accessed 12 August 2020
Gandhi, M., Rutherford, G.: Facial Masking for Covid-19 - Potential for ‘ Variolation’ as we Await a Vaccine, Perspective, The New England Journal of Medicine, Massachusetts Medical Society, 1–3, September 8, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2026913
Kirkham, P. Yeadon, M., Thomas, B.: How Likely is a Second Waves, Lockdown Sceptics, 8 September (2020). https://lockdownsceptics.org/addressing-the-cv19-second-wave. Accessed 20 Sept 2020
Varoufakis, Y.: Something Remarkable just Happened this August: How the Pandemic has Sped up the Passage to Post-Capitalism, 25 August, 2020 https://diem25.org/something-remarkable-just-happened-this-august-how-the-pandemic-has-sped-the-passage-postcapitalism. Accessed 20 Sept 2020
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Blackledge, J.M. (2021). On the Evolution Equation for Modelling the Covid-19 Pandemic. In: Agarwal, P., Nieto, J.J., Ruzhansky, M., Torres, D.F.M. (eds) Analysis of Infectious Disease Problems (Covid-19) and Their Global Impact. Infosys Science Foundation Series(). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2450-6_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2450-6_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-2449-0
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-2450-6
eBook Packages: Mathematics and StatisticsMathematics and Statistics (R0)