Valuation of Swing Options in Electricity Commodity Markets

Although electricity is considered to be a commodity, its price behavior is remarkably different from most other commodities or assets on the market. Since power can hardly be stored physically, the storage-based methodology, which is widely used for valuing commodity derivatives, is unsuitable for electricity. Therefore, new approaches are required to understand and reproduce its price dynamics. Concurrently, the demand for derivative instruments has grown and new types of contracts for energy markets have been introduced. Swing options, in particular, have attracted an increasing interest, offering more flexibility and reducing exposure to strong price fluctuations. In this thesis, we propose a mean-reverting model with seasonality and double exponential jumps. It is able to accurately reproduce the behavior and main peculiarities of electricity's spot prices. With this model, we can characterize the swing option value as a solution to a partial integro-differential complementarity problem, which we solve numerically. In the last part of the thesis, we present a more complex type of swing options, in which we also include variable electricity volumes in the contract. This formulation leads to a two-dimensional Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation. By applying the method of characteristics, this problem is simplified to a sequence of one dimensional HJB equations, which are solved numerically by using a similar approach as before

Exploring the Scope of Flow in a Language Learning Context: Redefining the Dimensions Based on Student Perspectives

This study explores the notion of flow as it applies to contexts of second language (L2) learning and use. Previous work has focused on researcher-centred descriptions of flow, which generally refers to a person’s sense of being completely absorbed in a task, with L2 learners predominantly responding to questionnaire statements about flow. In this study, instead, flow is explored through the perspectives of the individuals experiencing flow, by asking them to describe their feelings and any factors they feel relevant to their experience. For a period of four weeks, five undergraduate students taking L2 courses of French or Spanish reported their flow states in weekly diary entries and interviews. As reported by students, several contexts emerged as conducive to flow, including interactive activities (which were the most reported), taking an exam, studying grammatical forms, listening to a lecture, reading, or practicing a speech. Data analysis focused on identifying a set of flow dimensions as emergent from students’ reports. Seven flow dimensions were identified: skill–challenge balance, attention, oblivion, interest, stress, enjoyment, and sense of accomplishment. Four dimensions were similar to the characteristics identified previously in relation to L2 learning (attention, interest, enjoyment, sense of accomplishment), one dimension was redefined on the basis of the present findings (skill–challenge balance), and two new dimensions were identified for the first time (oblivion, stress). Findings of this study suggest that flow might be linked to a certain level of proceduralization of L2 skills, as the element of automaticity was prominent in most descriptions of flow. Taken together, the findings align with previous claims that advanced skill levels are necessary for flow states to emerge (Egbert, 2003; Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2014)

I Don’t Think You like Me: Examining Metaperceptions of Interpersonal Liking in Second Language Academic Interaction

People often think about how they are perceived by others, but their perceptions (described as metaperceptions) are frequently off-target. Speakers communicating in their first language demonstrate a robust phenomenon, called the liking gap, where they consistently underestimate how much they are liked by their interlocutors. We extended this research to second language (L2) speakers to determine whether they demonstrate a similar negative bias and if it predicts willingness to engage in future interactions. We paired 76 English L2 university students with a previously unacquainted student to carry out a 10 min academic discussion task in English. After the conversation, students rated each other’s interpersonal liking, speaking skill, and interactional behavior, provided their metaperceptions for their partner’s ratings of the same dimensions, and assessed their willingness to engage in future interaction. We found a reliable interpersonal liking gap for all speakers, along with speaking skill and interaction behavior gaps for female speakers only. Only the female speakers (irrespective of their partner’s gender) seemed to factor metaperceptions into their willingness to engage in future communication. We discuss the implications of these initial findings and call for further work into the role of metaperception in L2 communication

Micropulse Laser Therapy as an Integral Part of Eye Disease Management

Ocular diseases can significantly impact vision and quality of life through pathophysiological alterations to the structure of the eye. The management of these conditions often involves a combination of pharmaceutical interventions, surgical procedures, and laser therapy. Laser technology has revolutionized many medical fields, including ophthalmology, offering precise and targeted treatment options that solve some of the unmet needs of other therapeutic strategies. Conventional laser techniques, while effective, can generate excessive thermal energy, leading to collateral tissue damage and potential side effects. Compared to conventional laser techniques, micropulse laser therapy delivers laser energy in a pulsed manner, minimizing collateral damage while effectively treating target tissues. The present paper highlights the advantages of micropulse laser therapy over conventional laser treatments, presents the implications of applying these strategies to some of the most prevalent ocular diseases, and highlights several types and mechanisms of micropulse lasers. Although micropulse laser therapy shows great potential in the management of ocular diseases, further research is needed to optimize treatment protocols, evaluate long-term efficacy, and explore its role in combination therapies

Metabolic Signatures: Pioneering the Frontier of Rectal Cancer Diagnosis and Response to Neoadjuvant Treatment with Biomarkers—A Systematic Review

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most aggressive, heterogenous, and fatal types of human cancer for which screening, and more effective therapeutic drugs are urgently needed. Early-stage detection and treatment greatly improve the 5-year survival rate. In the era of targeted therapies for all types of cancer, a complete metabolomic profile is mandatory before neoadjuvant therapy to assign the correct drugs and check the response to the treatment given. The aim of this study is to discover specific metabolic biomarkers or a sequence of metabolomic indicators that possess precise diagnostic capabilities in predicting the efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy. After searching the keywords, a total of 108 articles were identified during a timeframe of 10 years (2013–2023). Within this set, one article was excluded due to the use of non-English language. Six scientific papers were qualified for this investigation after eliminating all duplicates, publications not referring to the subject matter, open access restriction papers, and those not applicable to humans. Biomolecular analysis found a correlation between metabolomic analysis of colorectal cancer samples and poor progression-free survival rates. Biomarkers are instrumental in predicting a patient’s response to specific treatments, guiding the selection of targeted therapies, and indicating resistance to certain drugs