Five ways to get a grip on the drawbacks of logic models in program evaluation

Logic models are perhaps the most widely used tools in program evaluation work. They provide reasonably straightforward, visual illustrations of plausible links between program activities and outcomes. Consequently, they are employed frequently in stakeholder engagement, communication, and evaluation project planning. However, their relative simplicity comes with multiple drawbacks that can compromise the integrity of evaluation studies. In this Black Ice article, we outline key considerations and provide practical strategies that can help those engaged in evaluation work to identify and mitigate the limitations of logic models.

Techno-Economic Assessment of the Equipment for Production Carbon Black from APG

The present work describes one of the key areas of research activity of the modern oil and gas scientific world: decarbonization and increasing the efficiency of the natural and associated gas usage which is a method for producing carbon black. The technology is characterized by relative simplicity of the technological process and a wide market for the resulting product. This method is also included in the list of BAT (BREFs, 2020). The article presents a techno-economic assessment of the proposed method of using gas, there is also a comparison with other existing methods.

On the Method of Calculating Diffusion Vacuum Pump Stage Pumping Parameters

At present, steam jet vacuum pumps are widely used in various fields of science and technology due to a number of advantages, e.g., reliability, relative simplicity of design, and manufacturability, over other pumping means. The paper analyzes the existing mathematical models of working processes, methods for calculating the pumping parameters of steam-jet vacuum pumps. The problem of improving these methods, which are used in the design, is still urgent. The study attempts to further develop the models in order to increase their practical significance for the pumps design: in particular, the processes of pumping by the first stages of a diffusion pump are considered, since it is they that determine the efficiency of the pump as a whole. Analytical dependences for calculating the main pumping parameters of widely used diffusion vacuum pumps are presented. The obtained equations are a certain clarifying correction of the known provisions on this topic. Findings of research are of practical importance for the design of modern steam-jet vacuum pumps

Cache Oblivious Algorithms for Computing the Triplet Distance between Trees

We consider the problem of computing the triplet distance between two rooted unordered trees with n labeled leaves. Introduced by Dobson in 1975, the triplet distance is the number of leaf triples that induce different topologies in the two trees. The current theoretically fastest algorithm is an O( n log n ) algorithm by Brodal et al. (SODA 2013). Recently, Jansson and Rajaby proposed a new algorithm that, while slower in theory, requiring O( n log 3 n ) time, in practice it outperforms the theoretically faster O( n log n ) algorithm. Both algorithms do not scale to external memory. We present two cache oblivious algorithms that combine the best of both worlds. The first algorithm is for the case when the two input trees are binary trees, and the second is a generalized algorithm for two input trees of arbitrary degree. Analyzed in the RAM model, both algorithms require O( n log n ) time, and in the cache oblivious model O( n / B log 2 n / M ) I/Os. Their relative simplicity and the fact that they scale to external memory makes them achieve the best practical performance. We note that these are the first algorithms that scale to external memory, both in theory and in practice, for this problem.

Removal modelling in ecology: A systematic review

Removal models were proposed over 80 years ago as a tool to estimate unknown population size. More recently, they are used as an effective tool for management actions for the control of non desirable species, or for the evaluation of translocation management actions. Although the models have evolved over time, in essence, the protocol for data collection has remained similar: at each sampling occasion attempts are made to capture and remove individuals from the study area. Within this paper we review the literature of removal modelling and highlight the methodological developments for the analysis of removal data, in order to provide a unified resource for ecologists wishing to implement these approaches. Models for removal data have developed to better accommodate important features of the data and we discuss the shift in the required assumptions for the implementation of the models. The relative simplicity of this type of data and associated models mean that the method remains attractive and we discuss the potential future role of this technique.

Основы сравнительной грамматики славянских языков в VII томе «Народной энциклопедии научных и прикладных знаний» (1911)

The thesis deals with popular descriptions of several Slavonic languages published in the 7 th volume of Russian “People’s Encyclopedia of the Scientific and Applied Knowledge” 110 years ago. The author states that those descriptions supplemented by seven commented texts may be regarded as some prototype of the later, however unfinished, manual of Slavonic linguistics by A. M. Selishchev and finally of the fundamental, although quite differently built Outline of the Comparative Grammar of the Slavonic Languages by Samuil B. Bernstein. Their relative simplicity enables using them, including the texts which only sometimes require some revision, in teaching of the Comparative Slavonic Linguistics also nowadays.

GLOBAL AND NATIONAL INDICATORS FOR LAND DEGRADATION ASSESSMENT

Despite the convenience and relative simplicity of the international methodology, as well as the possibility for comparative analysis of the state of land for the entire territory of the country according to a unified methodology, nevertheless it can not be used as alternative methods through direct substitutions of the global LDN indicators to national counterparts. To harmonizing national and global data it is proposed to enhance the national land monitoring system with global indicators for using them in the national land assessment system to monitor and verify the accuracy of statistical data obtained by traditional methods.

U-Th-He Geochronology of Pyrite from the Uzelga VMS Deposit (South Urals)—New Perspectives for Direct Dating of the Ore-Forming Processes

We report on the application of the U-Th-He method for the direct dating of pyrite and provide an original methodological approach for measurement of U, Th and He in single grains without loss of parent nuclides during thermal extraction of He. The U-Th-He age of ten samples of high-crystalline stoichiometric pyrite from unoxidized massive ores of the Uzelga volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit, South Urals, is 382 ± 12 Ma (2σ) (U concentrations ~1–5 ppm; 4He ~10−4 cm3 STP g−1). This age is consistent with independent (biostratigraphic) estimations of the age of ore formation (ca, 389–380 Ma) and is remarkably older than the probable age of the regional prehnite-pumpellyite facies metamorphism (~340–345 Ma). Our results indicate that the U-Th-He dating of ~1 mg weight pyrite sample is possible and open new perspectives for the dating of ore deposits. The relative simplicity of U-Th-He dating in comparison with other geochronological methods makes this approach interesting for further application.

Gastropod Learning and Memory (Aplysia, Hermissenda, Lymnaea, and Others)

Euopisthobranchia (Aplysia), Nudipleura (Tritonia, Hermissenda, Pleurobranchaea), and Panpulmonata (Lymnaea, Helix, Limax) gastropod mollusks exhibit a variety of reflex, rhythmic, and motivated behaviors that can be modified by elementary forms of learning and memory. The relative simplicity of their nervous systems and behavioral repertoires has allowed the uncovering of processes of neuronal and synaptic plasticity underlying non-associative learning, such as habituation, sensitization, and different forms of associative learning, such as classical and operant conditioning. Decades of work on these simpler and accessible animal systems have almost uniquely yielded an understanding into the mechanistic basis of learning and memory spanning behavior, neuronal circuitry, and molecules. Given the conservative nature of evolutionary processes, the mechanisms deciphered have also provided valuable insights into the neural basis of learning and memory in other metazoans, including higher vertebrates.

Removal modelling in ecology

Removal models were proposed over 80 years ago as a tool to estimate unknown population size. Although the models have evolved over time, in essence, the protocol for data collection has remained similar: at each sampling occasion attempts are made to capture and remove individuals from the study area. Within this paper we review the literature of removal modelling and highlight the methodological developments for the analysis of removal data, in order to provide a unified resource for ecologists wishing to implement these approaches. Models for removal data have developed to better accommodate important feature of the data and we discuss the shift in the required assumption for the implementation of the models. The relative simplicity of this type of data and associated models mean that the method remains attractive and we discuss the potential future role of this technique.Author summarySince the introduction of the removal in 1939, the method has being extensively used by ecologists to estimate population size. Although the models have evolved over time, in essence, the protocol for data collection has remained similar: at each sampling occasion attempts are made to capture and remove individuals from the study area. Here, we introduce the method and how it has been applied and how it has evolved over time. Our study provides a literature review of the methods and applications followed by a review of available software. We conclude with a discussion about the opportunities of this model in the future.