Ambiguous Effects Research Articles

The oxytocin antagonist cligosiban reduces human prostate contractility: Implications for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

With increasing life expectancy, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) consequently affects more ageing men, illustrating the urgent need for advancements in BPH therapy. One emerging possibility may be the use of oxytocin antagonists to relax smooth muscle cells in the prostate, similar to the currently used (although often associated with side effects) α1-adrenoceptor blockers. For the first time we used live-imaging, combined with a novel image analysis method, to investigate the multidirectional contractions of the human prostate and determine their changes in response to oxytocin and the oxytocin antagonists atosiban and cligosiban. Human prostate samples were obtained and compared from patients undergoing prostatectomy due to prostate cancer as well as from patients with transurethral resection of prostate tissue due to severe BPH. The two cohorts of tissue samples showed spontaneous multidirectional contractions, which significantly increased after the addition of oxytocin. Different to atosiban, which showed ambiguous effects of short duration, only long-acting cligosiban reliably prevented, as well as counteracted, any contractile oxytocin effect. Furthermore, cligosiban visibly reduced not only oxytocin-induced contractions, but also showed intrinsic activity to relax prostatic tissue. Thus, the oxytocin antagonist cligosiban could be an interesting candidate in the search for novel BPH treatment options.

The cost of protecting resources: a cross-sectional study on the interaction between LMX and role ambiguity on work addiction and burnout among Canadian first-level healthcare managers.

Using the conservation of resources (COR) theory, our study explores the interaction between role ambiguity and leader-member exchange (LMX) quality on burnout using work addiction as a mediator among Canadian first-level healthcare managers. Cross-sectional data was collected among 165 first-level managers working in healthcare with the support of interprofessional associations in Canada. Linear regression was used to test the presented hypotheses. Work addiction fully mediated the positive relationship between role ambiguity and burnout among first-level managers. In addition, high LMX exacerbated both the direct and indirect effects of role ambiguity. Our study contributes by identifying role ambiguity as a context under which LMX can have adverse effects for first-level managers in healthcare. Moreover, work addiction acted as a mediator, theorized as a risky resource investment which depletes managers' resources. Having a good relationship with their team further entices managers to develop a pathological relationship with their work to protect its members, which in turn is related to higher levels of burnout.

From theory to practice: Monetary policy transmission and bank risk dynamics.

This paper investigates the relationship between monetary policy and bank risk-taking by introducing a model wherein banks expend a level of costly monitoring effort to select low-risk projects, thereby reducing the risk associated with the loans they grant. The impact of monetary policy on bank risk-taking is examined through both theoretical models and empirical analysis. The paper compares theoretical models with different assumptions, revealing an unambiguous negative effect without the assumption of limited liability for banks, and an ambiguous effect with the assumption of limited liability for banks, influenced by the equity ratio. The empirical model employs unique quarterly data comprising balance sheet information for top-listed banks in the U.S. banking system from 2000 to 2017. The findings indicate that low-interest rates contribute to an increase in bank risk-taking. Moreover, this effect is more pronounced after the financial crisis and weaker before the crisis. Additionally, the impact is evident for undercapitalized banks and more substantial for those financed with a higher proportion of equity.

EWOM Information Richness and Online User Review Behavior: Evidence from TripAdvisor

The growing number of online users commenting on review platforms has fueled the development of electronic word–of–mouth (eWOM). At the same time, merchants have improved their requirements for the length and frequency of online reviews. However, few studies have examined the updating mechanism of online reviews length and frequency from the perspective of businesses. This study explores the relationship between online commenting platform users and eWOM and examines how eWOM information richness affects online user review behavior. We used media richness theory (MRT) to quantify the information richness of eWOM content (linguistic, textual, and photographical) to build an empirical framework. For the research data, we used advanced big data analytics to retrieve and analyze TripAdvisor data on restaurant services in nine major tourist destinations, the United States, Mexico, and mainland Europe (including UK, Spain, Netherlands, etc.), over a long period of time. Based on >10 million eWOM, this study used multiple regression to examine the impact of eWOM information richness on online user review behavior, considering the moderating effect of information ambiguity. Our research results show that content information richness positively affects online user review behavior, increasing their frequency and length. Information ambiguity play a moderating role that strengthens this relationship. This supports our theoretical hypothesis. Finally, for greater applicability and reliability, we conducted a comparative study on the degree of differences in the relationship between eWOM and users based on different cultural backgrounds across countries.

Role ambiguity and role conflict effects on employees’ emotional exhaustion in healthcare services in Tanzania

Role ambiguity and role conflict effects on employees’ emotional exhaustion in healthcare services in Tanzania

Effect of role ambiguity and psychological safety on employees' innovative work behavior intention

The organization environment has low role ambiguity and high psychological safety so innovation can be an organizational advantage. This research used a quasi-experimental study using the Experiment Vignette Method (EVM), which aims to measure the effect of role ambiguity and psychological safety on employees' innovative work behaviour intention. The research instrument used a questionnaire distributed using Google Forms. Data collection was carried out using a purposive sampling method and obtained 262 marketplace employees in Indonesia. Independent manipulation variables were arranged as 4x2 comic strips with 4 variations of scenarios as well as measuring employee innovative work behaviour intentions using an innovative work behaviour intention questionnaire. Two-way ANOVA analysis shows that there is a significant effect of role ambiguity on employees' innovative work behaviour intention. In addition, employees with high psychological safety also show more intention to behave innovatively. This study also shows that there is an interaction effect between role ambiguity and psychological safety on employee innovative work behaviour intention.

A Lack of Clarity, a Lack of OCB: The Detrimental Effects of Role Ambiguity, Through Procedural Injustice, and the Mitigating Roles of Relational Resources

ABSTRACT If employees lack information about their job responsibilities, do they halt their voluntary work efforts, and if so, why and when? To answer these questions, this study attempts to unpack the relationship between employees’ role ambiguity and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and proposes both a mediating role of procedural injustice and a moderating role of relational resources (i.e. social interaction and goodwill trust). Survey data collected from employees who work for a services organization in Mozambique indicate that a critical reason that unclear role descriptions diminish extra-role work activities is that employees criticize their organization for maintaining unfair decision-making processes. The informality and trustworthiness of their peer relationships mitigate this detrimental effect. For employees who feel stressed by insufficient information about job responsibilities, this study indicates a risk that their organizational standing might become compromised because they respond by refraining from work-related voluntarism. Organizations need to encourage high-quality interpersonal exchanges to help reduce this risk.

Sectoral Heterogeneity in Nominal Price Rigidity and the Origin of Aggregate Fluctuations

We study the role of heterogeneity in nominal price rigidity for aggregate fluctuations in a model with sectoral productivity shocks. Theoretically, sectoral heterogeneity in the pricing friction has an ambiguous effect on GDP and aggregate price volatility. Quantitatively, (i) GDP volatility is amplified when the friction is heterogeneous rather than homogeneous; (ii) sectoral shocks can jointly rationalize the volatility of sectoral prices, aggregate prices, and GDP, unlike aggregate shocks; and (iii) shocks to the largest or most central sectors may not matter in the aggregate as heterogeneous pricing frictions may alter the identity of the most important sectors for aggregate fluctuations. (JEL E12, E23, E31, E32)

COMPLEX ASSESSMENT AND FORMATION OF SCENARIOS ENSURING THE BUSINESS ENTITIES INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS IN THE GLOBAL CHALLENGES CONDITIONS

The new global challenges that Ukraine has faced have an ambiguous effect on the process of attracting investments in the development of the economy. The key negative factors are war and related violations of international logistics due to the destruction and closure of airports, ports, closed borders; liquidation of vital infrastructure; mass displacement of the population, which is caused by active hostilities, which creates economic threats for investing in any projects of the country due to the risks of their freezing or disruption; the annexation of certain regions, as a result of which the process of business relocation from dangerous regions became more active, causing the emergence of additional risks and losses; decrease in economic indicators and the potential of economic development, lack of a system of guaranteeing and protecting foreign investments at the state level. Therefore, ensuring investment attractiveness at the macro and micro levels is complicated by existing global challenges and requires special attention, taking into account the fact that the post-war recovery of Ukraine's economy requires attracting a sufficient level of investment on mutually beneficial terms.
 The article assesses the investment attractiveness level on the example of one of the business entities using various methods, compares the results obtained, and forms scenarios for ensuring investment attractiveness. Depending on the level of investment attractiveness of the enterprise and the corresponding type of investment potential, as well as the investment attractiveness of the industry, it is proposed to use one of the basic scenarios for ensuring investment attractiveness and the formation and realization of investment potential, which involve the implementation of one or another strategy

Disentangling the Nonlinear Effects of Goal Ambiguity on Turnover Intention: Focusing on the Moderating Role of Public Service Motivation

Disentangling the Nonlinear Effects of Goal Ambiguity on Turnover Intention: Focusing on the Moderating Role of Public Service Motivation

THE AMBIVALENCE OF NOSTALGIA AS AN ETERNAL RETURN TO THE CITY OF CHILDHOOD: F.I. CHALIAPIN AND KAZAN

The article is devoted to the analysis of nostalgia in the life of F.I. Chaliapin, which determined the novelty of the work. With the help of biographical and analytical research methods based on autobiographical prose and letters of Fyodor Ivanovich, memories of his loved ones, it was revealed that Kazan, as the city of birth and youth, played the role of a significant symbol for the singer. Fyodor Ivanovich was nostalgic for Kazan, especially after emigration. The method of historical modeling revealed ambivalent features of Chaliapin's nostalgia, which had ambiguous consequences for him. In the life and work of the singer, restoring nostalgia associated with creativity and reflective nostalgia intersected, in the context of which the irrevocability of the past and the finiteness of human existence were realized. At the same time, in the last years of the artist's life (due to the spatial and temporal gap with Russia and the lack of energy supply), reflective nostalgia with its pessimistic moods took dominant positions. Fyodor Ivanovich's tragic worldview began to prevail, which contributed to his sudden death. Nostalgia, as an eternal return to the pages of Kazan life in memory, testified to the strength of the artist's character, who was able to relive not only positive but also negative experiences and use them in the situationality of life and creativity. The results of the conducted research contribute to the further study of nostalgia in the life of creative personalities, which will allow us to identify its features in each specific case.

When advisors do not know what is best for advisees: Uncertainty inhibits advice giving.

While seeking advice can be beneficial for advisees, advisors may not always possess the necessary knowledge to provide appropriate guidance. Poor-quality advice can mislead advisees rather than offering assistance. Despite the research interest in advisees, few studies have investigated advisors' psychological and behavioral responses, especially when they faced uncertainty regarding the optimal course of action for advisees. To fill this gap, we developed novel paradigms aiming at manipulating advisors' uncertainty, allowing for a systematic investigation of advisors' behavior, motivation, and emotion. Across four studies, we consistently found that advisors under uncertainty give less advice. Furthermore, we observed that uncertainty modulates advisors' motivation to influence, worry about harm to others, and/or sense of power. The motivation to influence and/or worry about harm to others can mediate the effect of uncertainty on advice giving. Besides, we identified nuanced distinctions in the effects of ambiguity and risk, two distinct types of uncertainty, on advisors' psychological processes. Our findings shed light on advisors' self-monitoring of the quality of their advice, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of advisor-advisee communication from the perspective of advisors.

A Coherent Integration Method for Moving Target Detection in Frequency Agile Signal-Based Passive Bistatic Radar

In this paper, the possibility of improving target detection performance in passive bistatic radar by exploiting a frequency agile (FA) signal is investigated, namely frequency agile signal-based passive bistatic radar (FAPBR) coherent integration. Since the carrier frequency of each pulse signal is agile, FAPBR coherent integration suffers from the problems of random range and Doppler phase fluctuations. To tackle these challenges, a novel FA signal coherent integration target detection scheme for PBR is proposed. In particular, the phase quadratic difference principle is presented for eliminating Doppler phase hopping. Then, frequency rearrangement is adopted to compensate for random range phase fluctuation while obtaining the high-range-resolution profiles (HRRPs) of the detecting target. Further, we innovatively present a sliding-range ambiguity decoupling (S-RAD) method to remove the range ambiguity effect in the case of the high pulse repetition frequency (HPRF). Compared with the existing methods, the proposed method can effectively mitigate Doppler phase hopping without requiring prior target velocity information, offering improved coherent integration performance in frequency agile signals with reduced computational complexity. Moreover, it successfully corrects the range ambiguity issue caused by HPRF. Finally, a series of simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Интеграция теории перспектив Амоса Тверски и Даниэля Канемана в концепцию «Lean Trading»

Integration of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman’s prospect theory into the concept of “Lean Trading” represents an interesting area of research, offering new approaches to trading in financial markets. «Lean Trading» is a trading strategy based on the principles of Lean management approach (taken from production management methodology and focused on minimizing losses and maximizing efficiency). Prospect theory suggests that people make decisions based on their perception of the situation and subjective evaluations, rather than on objective data. Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky proposed several key concepts that can be integrated into «Lean Trading» such as «loss aversion», «ambiguity effect» and «status quo bias». These concepts allow for a better understanding of investor behavior and their risk propensity. Integrating prospect theory into the concept of «Lean Trading» can contribute to improving decision-making processes and risk management, leading to increased trading performance in the stock market, where quick and informed decisions need to be made in a rapidly changing market environment.

Inhibiting effects of humic acid on iron flocculation hindered As removal by electro-flocculation on air cathode iron anode

Activated carbon air cathode combined with iron anode oxidation-flocculation synergistic Arsenic (As) removal was a new groundwater purification technology with low energy consumption and high efficiency for groundwater with high As concentration. The presence of organic matter such as humic acid (HA) had ambiguous effects on formation of organic colloids in the system. The effects of the particle size distribution characteristics of these colloids on the formation characteristics of flocs and the efficiency of As purification was not clear. In this work, we used five different pore size alumina filter membranes to separate mixed phase solutions and studied the corresponding changes in iron and arsenic concentrations in the presence and absence of humic acid conditions. In the presence of HA, the arsenic concentration of < 0.05 µm particle size components was 1.01, 1.28, 3.07, 7.69, 2.85 and 1.24 times of that in the absence of HA. At the same time, the arsenic content in 0.05–0.1 µm and 0.1–0.45 µm particle size components was also higher than that in the system without HA, which revealed that the presence of HA hindered the flocculation behavior of As distribution to higher particle sizes in the early stage of the reaction. The presence of HA affected the flocculation rate of iron flocs from small to large particle size fractions and it had limited effect on the behavior of large-size flocs in adsorption of As. These results provide a theoretical basis for targeted, rapid, and low consumption synergistic removal of arsenic and organic compounds in high arsenic groundwater.

Историософские аспекты отечественного народовластия: стадия зрелого государства: статья 3

The final article is a consideration of democracy at the stage of a mature state, which already acts as an organ-ic form of political organization of a particular society, without which the given society itself cannot exist in prin-ciple. The key process of this stage of domestic political genesis is the growth of bureaucracy, which at the pre-sent stage acts as both the thesis and antithesis of social development to a comparable extent. Bureaucratiza-tion, going beyond the framework of management structures, penetrates deeply into other spheres, largely modifying their essential meaning and subordinating all new social segments to its logic. This is reflected in the forms of democracy that come under the pressure of administrative paperwork. At the same time, democracy manifests itself in forms largely determined not only by the political, but also by the social and cultural envi-ronment. Being a reaction to a power vacuum, people’s power is formed under the influence of cultural-ideological or power tendencies, and its implementation can lead to ambiguous consequences, including so-cial chaotization.

Public Financing of Professional Sports Facilities and Drug Asset Forfeiture

Local governments provide many crucial services from limited budgets, yet often subsidize the profitable, private businesses in professional sports leagues in the United States. Policing represents one important public service. Policing typically constitutes large portions of government budgets and also generates revenue through fines and forfeitures. Existing evidence suggests that large municipal expenditures in other areas can have an ambiguous effect on policing outcomes. This paper addresses the question of whether large public expenditures on sports facilities affect drug asset forfeiture using two-way fixed effects (TWFE) and generalized dynamic model specifications (GDMS). The results are similar across estimation methods, with static TWFE results suggesting a treatment effect of $1,274–5,589 in additional forfeiture per million in subsidies and results from the newer GDMS estimators suggesting $7,703 per million in subsidies. The results imply that, beyond generating no tangible local economic benefits, public subsidization of sports facilities also leads police to make up budget shortfalls by more aggressive policing, which has important implications for racial equity.

Impact of Individual and Job Characteristics on Nurses’ Scope of Practice in Spanish Hospital Units

Background. Nurses are one of the largest and costliest groups in healthcare organizations; therefore, it is important to comprehend their scope of practice. Aim. To contribute to the improvement of nursing resource management in medical-surgical and Intensive Care Units by identifying factors that influence the scope of nursing practice. The hypothesis was that the activities carried out by nurses in medical-surgical units and intensive care units are influenced by individual and job-related factors, with job characteristics having an additive and moderating effect on individual characteristics. Materials and Methods. Cross-sectional correlational design to test the relationship between the individual and job characteristics on the nursing scope of practice measured by the Actual Scope of Nursing Practice (ASCOP) questionnaire. The sample consisted of 270 nurses. Linear mixed effects models analysis (LME) was used with the aleatory effect of the intensive care unit (ICU). Results. Belonging to the ICU decreased the scope of practice of nurses. We found a statistically significant effect of psychological demand, practice environment, role ambiguity, and growth need strength on the scope of nursing practice. The models explained a variance up to 24%. Conclusions. Although the survey results revealed the existence of broader scope of practice levels in Spanish hospital units than in the original Canadian study, the use of scope of nursing practice remains suboptimal. Higher levels on the psychological demand, the practice environment and in the individual growth need strength were related with a broader scope of practice. Otherwise, role ambiguity negatively affected the scope of practice. Implications for Nursing Management. This article provides an analysis of the impact of individual and job-related characteristics on the nursing scope of practice. It serves as a valuable resource for both managers and nurses, offering insights to improve nurses’ working conditions and obtain more efficient workforces.

Effects of climate change and human activities on vector-borne diseases.

Vector-borne diseases are transmitted by haematophagous arthropods (for example, mosquitoes, ticks and sandflies) to humans and wild and domestic animals, with the largest burden on global public health disproportionately affecting people in tropical and subtropical areas. Because vectors are ectothermic, climate and weather alterations (for example, temperature, rainfall and humidity) can affect their reproduction, survival, geographic distribution and, consequently, ability to transmit pathogens. However, the effects of climate change on vector-borne diseases can be multifaceted and complex, sometimes with ambiguous consequences. In this Review, we discuss the potential effects of climate change, weather and other anthropogenic factors, including land use, human mobility and behaviour, as possible contributors to the redistribution of vectors and spread of vector-borne diseases worldwide.

Electric field induced the changes in structure and function of human transforming growth factor beta receptor type I: from molecular dynamics to docking

The transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway is believed to play essential roles in several physiological activities, including cancer. TGF-β receptor type I (TBR-I) is a key membrane receptor protein in the TGF-β signaling pathway, which relates to many intracellular biological effects. In recent years, cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has been found to have promising prospects in selective anticancer therapy and has confirmed its essential role in the TGF-β signaling pathway. However, the ambiguous effect of CAP-induced electric field (EF) on TBR-I still limits the application of CAP in clinical therapy. Molecular dynamics is applied to assess the effect of EF on the structure of the extracellular domain of TBR-I using a series of indicators and methods, and then we discuss the ligand binding ability of TBR-I. Results show that moderate EF intensities’ structural restraints may contribute to the structural stability and ligand-binding ability of TBR-I, but an EF higher than 0.1 V/nm will be harmful. What’s more, EF induces a change in the docking interface of TBR-I, showing the conformation and position of special sequences of residues decide the ligand binding surface. The relevant results suggest that CAP-induced EF plays a crucial role in receptor-receptor interaction and provides significant guidelines for EF-related anticancer therapy. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma