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PurposeGripped by the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline industry has faced many restrictions. Based on the determining factor of repurchase intention, this research paper addresses the roles of brand engagement (BE) and consumer trust during the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachA number of 439 out of 500 questionnaires, which were distributed among the Iranian airlines' customers, were completed and returned (an 87% response rate). SmartPLS 3 was used to carry out the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in order to validate the research hypotheses.FindingsThe results show that during the COVID-19 pandemic, BE had a significant effect on customer purchase intention. In addition, BE boosted customer trust and thereby increased repurchase intention. Perceived risks of COVID-19 moderated these relationships. The findings also show that airline customers are highly sensitive to various perceived risks and were especially so during the COVID-19 pandemic. These perceived risks have major impacts on customers' intention to reuse the services of airline companies. High levels of perceived risk decrease customer trust, BE and repurchase intention rates, and vice versa.Practical implicationsThis paper provides authorities and decision-makers of the air transport industry with several practical recommendations based on the research findings. As the results confirmed, there is a worthwhile relationship between BE and customer trust; regarding the both direct and indirect benefits of customer trust for for-profit firms and the huge importance of trust in creating competitive advantages, different airline companies need to implement various strategies to engage customers with their brand names, and thereby institutionalize trust in their customers' minds during the pandemic. Since customer trust was also found to improve repurchase intention rates significantly, authorities of the airline industry must take actions to reduce feelings of mistrust and risk among consumers and increase customer trust during COVID-19.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to explore the effect of BE on airline customers' repurchase intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has produced practical suggestions to employees and activists of the air transport industry regarding the use of BE as a tool to restore customer trust during and after the COVID-19 epidemic. This research focuses on the airline industry, which is particularly interesting given the industry's intensely competitive environment and the dramatic effect of COVID-19 on the industry.

Purpose In most countries, independent hotels are a major contributor to both national economy and the hospitality sector, but to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is a lack of any study on brand co-creation (BCC) in independent hotels. This study aims to examine the interrelationship of moral judgement (MJ), self–brand connection, customer–brand engagement (CBE), electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and how BCC occurs in independent hotels and contrasts visitors’ perspectives between two different Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness clusters in independent hotels. Furthermore, this study also examines the moderating impact of privacy concern (PC) on the relationship between eWOM and brand co-creation. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from two groups of tourists, Iranian (290) and European (224), who visited and stayed in independent hotels in some major cities in Iran. The structural equation modelling using AMOS 22 was adopted to test the hypotheses. Findings The study’s findings revealed that there are significant differences between two culturally different travellers in terms of selected variables, suggesting that MJ is a main antecedent of CBE, which leads to eWOM among Iranian travellers, which consequently leads to BCC. Moreover, the study’s data indicates that European travellers show a high level of PCs while staying in independent hotels in Iran, which prevents them from sharing and getting engaged in the social media, which could delay the BCC process especially in international level. Originality/value This study contributes to literature by providing new insights on the differences in the concept of brand co-creation between two culturally different groups in the context of independent hotels, which require special attention of independent hotel managers.

In today’s competitive world, organizations are in a constant struggle to retain their current customers while attracting new customers through various methods. Customer churn is a major challenge in different industries and companies. Despite their initial successful attempts at attracting customers, organizations soon face the fact that their current customers may turn away towards their rivals. By identifying churn candidates, organizations will be able to guarantee their future success by revising their customer relationship management policy. Analyzing the data of the telecommunications industries, this study provided an effective early-churn-detection solution using modern techniques by stacking data mining algorithms. Research findings indicate that integrating support vector machines (SVMs) with the chi-square automatic interaction detection (CHAID) decision tree can yield the best outcome. The results show the proper accuracy of the proposed churn prediction solution. In addition, stacking contributed to improved customer churn detection results.

With emergence of digital travel platforms, traveler online reviews have become a source of rich information which has a significant role in their perception of the services that influences consumer’s demand for resorts. This study aims to identify and rank influential factors of loyalty and disloyalty of travelers through customer online reviews in traditional resorts using Latent Sentiment Analysis (LSA). Our results indicate factors that creating loyalty and disloyalty toward traditional resorts are different and some of these factors are more significant and different from previous studies in the context of other types of hotels. This study signifies the importance of travellers’ online reviews to the resorts managers and contributes to them to improve loyalty factors and alleviate disloyalty factors.

The transition of Candida albicans from yeast to hyphae cause the attachment to epithelial cells, forming biofilm and invasion. Therefore, the effect of Pediococcus acidilactici on morphogenesis and pathogenesis of C. albicans were examined. Inhibitory activity of P. acidilactici on Candida species growth was investigated and inhibition of C. albicans biofilm formation was measured by XTT method. Also, expression of seven genes as: Agglutinin-like protein 1 (ALS1,3), hyphal cell-wall protein (HWP1), secreted aspartyl proteinase (SAP4,6), Enhanced filamentous growth 1 (EFG1) and Enhanced activated protein 1 (EAP1) were studied by RT-PCR with different concentrations of P. acidilactici. The experimental activity of this probiotic bacterium was evaluated in an animal model by culture and histopathological methods. P. acidilactici inhibited the growth of Candida species at concentrations of 8-512 µg/mL (approximately 8 × 106 to 5 × 108 CFU/ml). This probiotic bacterium inhibited the germ tube and biofilm formation in a dose-dependent manner. RT-PCR analysis showed a reduction in genes expression. The P. acidilactici reduced the CFUs in mice receiving this probiotic bacterium. Histopathological analyses showed that Candida colonization was diminished in mice following the administration of probiotic. Since the wide range of antifungal activity of this bacterium bacterium, it can be used to manage oral candidiasis.

The spread and development of drug-resistant bacterial strains has prompted the hunt for novel antibacterial polypeptides undergoing conformational changes to confer rapid bactericidal effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of novel BMAP27-Melittin conjugated peptide- nanoparticle (NP) againstSixty subgingival plaque samples were collected, and 39Thirty-nine infected subjects were reported, including 24 males and 15 females (BMAP27-Melittin-NP demonstrated significant antibacterial and anti-biofilm effects against clinical isolates of

Aim Incidence of transient bacteremia following dental extractions ranges 30%-70% among adults and 58%-100% in children. This study aims to assess the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique in detection of transient bacteremia during dental extraction. Methods Twenty volunteers for dental extraction entered the study. Blood samples were taken at baseline and 30 seconds and 15 minutes after extraction. Five types of bacteria were selected, namely Streptococcus mutans, S. salivarius, S. sanguinis, Enterococcus faecalis and Lactobacillus. Blood samples were evaluated by microbial culture and multiplex PCR. Results Blood culture showed rates of 0%, 80% and 25% for bacteremia before, during and after dental extraction, respectively. A significant difference was observed between baseline and during extraction. Using PCR, bacteremia was deemed 20%, 100% and 30% before, during and after extraction, respectively, and a significant difference was witnessed between the baseline and during extraction. The highest incidence was at the 30-second mark after extraction, and the most prevalent type of bacteria was S. mutans. Conclusions Multiplex PCR can be used to determine bacterial diversity with high accuracy during occurrence of bacteremia. Therefore, in cases where positive blood cultures only indicate the presence of one species, we recommend the use of this method to detect more diverse bacteria types.

To investigate the influence of stone opacity in plain radiography on stone free rate and complications ofpercutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).A number of 101 patients who underwent PCNL between July-September 2015 wereprospectively included. Stone opacity was judged on preoperative plain Kidney-Ureter-Bladder X-ray. Stone freerate was evaluated two weeks after the operation by ultrasonography and KUB.There were 61 patients with opaque stones and 40 patients with non-opaque stones. The age, body massindex, preoperative creatinine, history of stone surgery, and stone size was not statistically different betweenpatients with opaque and non-opaque stones. Neither operation duration nor access numbers were statisticallysignificant between opaque and non-opaque stones. The frequency of stone free patients in opaque stones and nonopaquestones were 55/61 (90%) and 30/40 (75%) respectively (P = .04) The magnitude of hemoglobin drop inopaque stones and non-opaque stones were 1.9 ± 1.2 mg/dL versus 2.9 ± 1.7 mg/dL (P = .005).The stone free rate is lower and the magnitude of bleeding is higher in PCNL of non-opaque stoneswhen compared to opaque stones if rigid instruments are used for nephroscopy.

This study was conducted to determine if serum inhibin B concentration can predict spermatogenesis in azoospermic infertile men.This cross-sectional study included 70 patients with male-factor infertility referred to Alvand and Vali-e-Asr Infertility Centers, Tehran, Iran. All patients had azoospermia. Standard evaluation consisted of history and physical examination with extreme attention to sexual history and testis examination including testis size, consistency, and presence of varicocele. Laboratory evaluation done for all cases consisted of FSH, testosterone, LH, prolactin, and inhibin B. Testis biopsy was performed in all cases with acceptable testis volume and FSH. The mean inhibin B level was compared in groups with positive and negative sperm retrieval.The mean+/-SEM age of 70 azoospermic patients was 32.1+/-6.2 (range: 20 - 50) years. All couples had primary infertility with a mean+/-SEM duration of infertility of 74.3+/-7.7 months. The mean+/-SEM testicular volume was 10.14+/-0.75 mL. The mean+/-SEM FSH and LH levels were 17.55+/-1.68, and 11.33+/-0.99 mIU/mL, respectively. The mean+/-SEM serum prolactin and testosterone levels were 308.77+/-17.35 and 5.45+/-0.91 ng/dL, respectively. The mean+/-SEM serum inhibin B concentration was 138.23+/-28.58 (range: 15 - 1500) pg/mL. Sperm was not retrieved in 82% of the patients; in 13% of the cases, biopsy revealed spermatogenesis. The mean+/-SEM serum FSH level of positive and negative groups was 9.78+/-2.13 and 22.56+/-2.46 mIU/mL, respectively (P0.05). The mean serum LH, prolactin, and testosterone levels were not statistically different between the two groups. The mean+/-SEM serum inhibin B was 129+/-45.46, and 158.93+/-47.24 pg/mL in positive and negative groups, respectively (P0.05).Inhibin B concentration is not an appropriate predicting factor for testicular spermatogenesis.