Uplift Quadratic Program in Irish Electricity Price Setting

Bord Gis required a deeper insight into the dynamics of Uplift prices. The aim of the group was to apply a variety of analytical tools to the problem in order to satisfy Bord Gis requirements. The group conducted a KKT Optimality Analysis of the quadratic program used to determine the Uplift prices, performed statistical analysis to identify the binding constraints and their sensitives to the Uplift prices, simulated a synthetic stochastic process that is consistent with the Uplift pricing series and investigated alternative objective functions for the quadratic program

Effect of soluble interleukin-6 receptor alpha and interleukin-6 secreted by polymorphonuclear leukocytes on tumor necrosis factor-alpha expression and its production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

BACKGROUND: It has recently been shown that soluble interleukin-6 receptor (sIL-6R) alone or complexed with interleukin (IL)-6, besides their regulatory role in a wide variety of both normal and abnormal biologic reactions mediated by IL-6, could be an effective stimulator of the cell function. AIMS: The key question of the present study is whether the sIL-6Ralpha or sIL-6R with IL-6 released by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) can influence cytokine secretion such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), which together with PMN develop the inflammatory and immune response of a host. METHODS: Cells were isolated from heparinized whole blood of healthy persons. The PMN were cultured for 1 h at 37 degrees C in 5% CO(2). After incubation, the culture supernatant of PMN was removed and was added to PBMC. The PBMC were cultured for 1 h at 37 degrees C in the same conditions. In the culture supernatants and lysates of PMN, we examined the concentrations of sIL-6R by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). TNF-alpha was measured at both protein and mRNA levels. Protein levels were determined by ELISA. To examine TNF-alpha mRNA expression, we isolated mRNA from PBMC after culture, using TRIZOL Reagent. The quantity of mRNA TNF-alpha was determined by the Quantikine mRNA assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The results obtained revealed that sIL-6R with IL-6 secreted by PMN may play a regulatory role in the immune response by modulating the TNF-alpha expression and its production by PBMC. This may have a significant influence on an early phase of the inflammation and other reactions mediated by TNF-alpha

The Development of Cultural Competence Through Educational Experiences Abroad

Educational experiences abroad, such as through a college or university, have an advantage–the development of cultural competence. The experiential knowledge a person can gain, as a result of such a trip, can potentially impact their own cultural understanding and behavior. Cultural competence not only embodies gaining the knowledge of cultures and differences, but developing positive attitudes towards different cultural practices and worldviews, how to go about them, as well as being aware of and challenging one’s own stance. A simpler explanation of cultural competence can be presented as the ability, but more importantly the commitment, to understand, communicate with and effectively work alongside people of diverse backgrounds. Cultural competence, illustrated as a life skill, is vital in the workforce and desired by employers. Accordingly, it is an essential attribute when trying to meet the needs of others–customers, clients, and the like. In order to do so, a business and its members must be considerate, or learn ways to bring consideration into their performance. Accommodating, or at the minimum trying to accommodate, every individual one is working with and/or providing for demonstrates this skill of cultural competence successfully. Possessing cultural sensitivity, understanding how to communicate with different people, and being committed to improving such contact is the key to any strong partnership. In order for an occurrence to be considered intercultural, two or more cultures are involved. Hence, traveling abroad provides opportunities to develop intercultural skills. Even with obstacles, such as a language barrier, individuals and groups have reported these experiences as worthwhile, due to how much was and can be acquired. Diverse participation moves people forward in a purposeful way through real-life relations. That being the case, placement in any contrasting environment allows a chance for the growth of cultural competence

Quirky n-words in Polish: NPIs, Negative Qantifiers or neither?

The present paper investigates the contexts in which the so-called n-words - the items which are taken to be Negative Polarity Items in Slavic languages - unexpectedly occur without a licensing negation marker on the verb. This particular usage of n-words seems to point towards an ambiguous behaviour of the items in question: in an antimorphic contexts they are NPIs; otherwise they are negative quantifiers with negation having narrow scope w.r.t. the event variable. The paper tries to answer the question why the latter use is restricted to certain adverbials. I argue that the availability of 'logophoric' n-words turns on the issue of what the adverbial PP is predicated of. This intuition is formalized using Higginbothamistic view on l-(exical) syntax, where the nature of $\Theta$-identification of the adverbial with the verb is of fundamental importance. The semantic requirement, however, turns out to be insufficient. Hence the syntactic position of the PP on the hierarchy of thematic roles also has to be taken into consideration. The data analysed include adverbials of manner, reason, time, place, direction, resultatives and depictives

La representación de los procesos de construcción de la identidad en los contextos interculturales de dos películas mexicanas sobre la Conquista

Some of the foundational myths about Mexican identity are revised ¿a this article by focusing on two contemporary films dealing with «La Conquista», Cabeza de Vaca (1990) and Bartolomé de Las Casas (1992). Both films depart from the former Latin-American tradition of condemnation of the official historical construct creared around rite Spanish colonization in America. The individual figures of the homonymous protagonists become the link between the colonial and colonized cultures by favouring dialogue and the engagement with the «other» culture. However their inability to transcend the binary opposition civilized / underdeveloped culture projects a condescending view of the indigenous culture rather than any positive identification or hybridization. As a consequence, the image of the Mexican colonization emanating from these films remains unsatisfactory, since the given positions of authority ciad subaltern are not fully questioned or subverted within the films’ dynamics