Asymptotic expansion of the difference of two Mahler measures

We show that for almost every polynomial P(x,y) with complex coefficients, the difference of the logarithmic Mahler measures of P(x,y) and P(x,x^n) can be expanded in a type of formal series similar to an asymptotic power series expansion in powers of 1/n. This generalizes a result of Boyd. We also show that such an expansion is unique and provide a formula for its coefficients. When P has algebraic coefficients, the coefficients in the expansion are linear combinations of polylogarithms of algebraic numbers, with algebraic coefficients.Comment: 25 pages. V2: Demoted previous Corollary 1 to a comment, after realizing that Boyd had already proved that bit. Made small corrections to Lemma 5, streamlined the proof of Lemma 9, and reworded section 9.

The Experience of Migrant Students in an Irish Second Level School

Immigration to Ireland in the late 20th and early 21st century has transformed Irish society from being a largely mono-cultural to a more intercultural society. This study is concerned with the experience of migrant students in a second level school. It explores the experiences of a small number of migrant students who completed five years of second level education in a provincial Irish town. The students came from a range of countries in Eastern Europe and Africa. This is a one-school insider case study where the principal is the researcher using qualitative interviews with students and staff to build a picture of intercultural education with its strengths, weaknesses and suggestions for improvement. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with students in the year or two after they completed school. Teachers’ experiences were also analysed using questionnaires and interviews. The portrait that emerges is that of a school in transition with a vibrant and complex intercultural student population. Themes emerging as significant from the research include the school curriculum, bullying and racism, relationships with teachers, the role of parents, the experience of socialisation and schooling and pedagogical responses. These complex issues are discussed in light of student experiences, teacher comments and insights from literature. Recommendations are made for a more inclusive curriculum, for celebrating the resource that is an intercultural classroom, for a pedagogy of cooperative learning, peer education and action research by students and teachers

Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale [Measurement instrument]

Permission to reuse and republish this measurement tool is granted free of charge on the condition that you include the following acknowledgement: “Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale by John T Condon of Flinders University, 2015. Reused under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 AU License. File available from: https://doi.org/10.25957/5dc0ed9114337

Lithostratigraphy, sedimentation and evolution of the Volta Basin in Ghana

We present a revised lithostratigraphy for the Voltaian Supergroup of Ghana, based on a review of existing literature, interpretations of remotely sensed data and reconnaissance field survey of the Volta Basin. These strata thicken eastwards, to a maximum of between 5 and 6 km adjacent to the Pan-African Dahomeyide orogen. They began to accumulate some time after about 1000 Ma, along the margin of an epicontinental sea. Initial sedimentation, comprising the age-equivalent Kwahu and Bombouaka Groups, shows a cyclical mode of deposition controlled by eustatic changes in sea-level that produced a range of nearshore marine, littoral and terrestrial environments. A major erosional interval was followed by deposition of the 3–4 km thick Oti-Pendjari Group. Basal tillites and associated sandy diamictons are correlated with the Marinoan (end-Cryogenian) glaciation, indicating a maximum depositional age of about 635 Ma. The overlying cap carbonates and tuffs were deposited within a shallow epeiric sea bordered by a volcanically active rift system. The main part of the group records the transition from a rifted passive margin to a fully developed foreland basin receiving marine flysch in the form of argillaceous strata interbedded with highly immature wacke-type sandstones and conglomerates. Maximum accommodation space was developed within a foredeep adjacent to the Dahomeyide belt. Towards the end of the orogenic phase, the foredeep succession became partially inverted and then was buried under coarse terrestrial, red-bed molasse of the Obosum Group

Uterine Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Its Unfolded Protein Response May Regulate Caspase 3 Activation in the Pregnant Mouse Uterus

We have previously proposed that uterine caspase-3 may modulate uterine contractility in a gestationally regulated fashion. The objective of this study was to determine the mechanism by which uterine caspase-3 is activated and consequently controlled in the pregnant uterus across gestation. Utilizing the mouse uterus as our gestational model we examined the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathways and the endoplasmic reticulum stress response as potential activators of uterine caspase-3 at the transcriptional and translational level. Our study revealed robust activation of the uterine myocyte endoplasmic reticulum stress response and its adaptive unfolded protein response during pregnancy coinciding respectively with increased uterine caspase-3 activity and its withdrawal to term. In contrast the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathways remained inactive across gestation. We speculate that physiological stimuli experienced by the pregnant uterus likely potentiates the uterine myocyte endoplasmic reticulum stress response resulting in elevated caspase-3 activation, which is isolated to the pregnant mouse myometrium. However as term approaches, activation of an elevated adaptive unfolded protein response acts to limit the endoplasmic reticulum stress response inhibiting caspase-3 resulting in its decline towards term. We speculate that these events have the capacity to regulate gestational length in a caspase-3 dependent manne

Data Fusion Model for Irish Electricity Load Forecasting

Weather inputs are an important factor in load forecasting. The arrival of a weather front or introduction of weather forecast errors lead to a change in the significance of weather as input. A data fusion of individual models is introduced, which uses a priori information regarding the significance of weather inputs in these situations, to produce a superior forecast to any individual model

The MPCP Longitudinal Educational Growth Study Third Year Report

This is the third-year report in a five-year evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). The MPCP, which began in 1990, provides government-funded vouchers for low-income children to attend private schools in the City of Milwaukee. The maximum voucher amount in 2008-09 was $6,607, and approximately 20,000 children used a voucher to attend either secular or religious private schools. The MPCP is the oldest and largest urban school voucher program in the United States. This evaluation was authorized by Wisconsin Act 125 enacted in 2005