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Independent hotels are in a competitive marketplace for staff in which they face a high rate of employee turnover resulting in poor performance and low profit. This study examines the impact of ethical leadership on turnover intention through ethical climate, employee voice, employee empowerment and affective commitment using a cross-cultural approach in two contrasting GLOBE surveyed countries, Iran and the United Kingdom, based on Social Exchange Theory. A sample of 807 personnel of independent hotels in the two countries were surveyed. Findings show that ethical leadership can reduce turnover intention by different mechanisms through the cultural features and leadership dimensions of the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, one of the fastest growing industries in the world has been the tourism industry which has been developed in the various types. This study aims to define a new concept called "new tourism destination "in the tourism industry, and investigate the factors of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in these destinations. The data of this study consisted of 15561 positive and negative Travelers' reviews collected from the new tourism destinations page on the TripAdvisor travel platform. Then, the Latent Sentiment Analysis (LSA) method was employed to analyse the data to explore and rank Satisfaction and dissatisfaction determinants in four most popular new destinations including suspended bridges, water parks, shopping malls and towers. Our findings revealed satisfaction and dissatisfaction factors among new tourism destinations are different. Interestingly, results indicate that in adventurous destinations, satisfaction and dissatisfaction factors are related to safety, view and cleanliness, while in non-adventurous destinations, factors are related to staff attributes, diversity and food quality. This study contributes to the existing literature and knowledge on the tourism destinations by providing a new definition in the tourism industry as 'new tourism destinations'. Also, by analysing tourists' opinions about the new tourism destinations, this study provides a deep insight for the managers of tourism destinations and offers practical suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on customer perceptions and behavior in restaurants, airline companies, and hotel sectors within the hospitality industry of Iran. The primary objective is to analyze how AI affects customer trust, brand engagement, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), and tourists' readiness to use AI technologies. Using a comparative analysis approach and surveys, this research tests hypotheses about the effects of artificial intelligence on various dimensions of customer interaction. The findings highlight significant relationships between the quality of artificial intelligence and customer engagement metrics, such as trust and brand loyalty, which are crucial for understanding and predicting customer behavior in response to technological advancements. This study lays the groundwork for theoretical assumptions about sustainability in these sectors in developing countries, providing a basis for future empirical research that could validate these assumptions and explore broader implications of AI integration in enhancing sustainable practices within the hospitality industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of service quality on intention-to-revisit through variables such as emotion, satisfaction, eWOM and loyalty in the hotel industry from a cross-cultural perspective that goes beyond national boundaries. Four countries were chosen from two clusters, based on the GLOBE Project, the UK and the US from the Anglo cluster and Iran and India from the Southern Asia cluster. A total of 1418 questionnaires were received from guests of 122 independent hotels, and the data were analyzed using the partial square technique in SEM-PLS. The findings reveal that antecedents of intention to revisit follow both similar and different patterns of relationships because of the cultural dimensions of the countries. While positive emotions experienced by Iranians and Indians can make them satisfied customers, the satisfaction of US consumers and the British is derived from their evaluation of service quality. In addition, the intention of US consumers and the British to revisit the hotel is created through their loyalty, but satisfaction and eWOM can lead to Iranian and Indian customers' revisit intention. This study contributes to the literature on the hospitality industry and the antecedents of intention-to-revisit by defining the distinction between countries within different clusters in the GLOBE Project and adds new knowledge to our understanding of culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With emergence of digital travel platforms, traveller 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 travellers through customer online reviews in traditional resorts using Latent Sentiment Analysis (LSA). Our results indicate factors that creating loyalty and disloyalty towards 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 toward 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oral candidiasis is a frequent form of candidiasis, caused by Candida species, in particular, Candida albicans (C. albicans). The transition of C. albicans from yeast to hyphae allows its attachment to epithelial cells, followed by biofilm formation, invasion, and tissue damage. Hence, we investigated the effect of Streptococcus salivarius subspecies thermophilus (S thermophilus) on the growth as well as biofilm and germ-tube formation of C. albicans both in vitro and in vivo in a murine model. Methods: This experimental study was performed in the Department of Medical Mycology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Central Research Laboratory and the Comparative Biomedical Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran (2017 to 2018). The inhibitory activity of S. thermophilus against Candida species growth was evaluated using the broth microdilution method, and the inhibition of C. albicans biofilm formation was measured using the XTT assay. The inhibition of C. albicans germ-tube formation by S. thermophilus was evaluated using the plate assay and fluorescence microscopy. The experimental activity of the probiotic bacterium was assessed by culture and histopathological methods in six groups of five mice, comprising those treated with four concentrations of probiotics, fluconazole, and distilled water. The one-way analysis of variance, followed by a Tukey post hoc test, was used and a P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: S. thermophilus inhibited Candida species growth at concentrations of 16 to 512 ^g/mL. This probiotic inhibited the formation of C. albicans biofilms and germ tubes in a dose-dependent manner. S. thermophilus significantly reduced the colony-forming units in the mice receiving 30 mg/mL of this probiotic treatment compared with the control group (P=0.024). The histopathological analysis showed that Candida colonization was diminished in the mice following the administration of the probiotic. Conclusion: Given the inhibitory activity of S. thermophilus against the growth, transition, and biofilm formation of C. albicans, it could be used in the management of oral candidiasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The sperm count and function may be affected by karyotype abnormalities or microdeletion in Y chromosome. These genetic abnormalities can probably transmit to the children. Objective: In this study, we tried to determine the frequency of karyotype abnormalities and Y chromosome microdeletions in severe oligospermic or azoospermic men who fathered sons by ICSI. Materials and Methods: This study comprised of fathers who had at least a son with ICSI due to severe oligospermia or azoospermia. General examinations were done and blood sample were obtained for karyotype and Y chromosome studies. Results: The total of 60 fathers was evaluated along with their 70 sons. The mean duration of infertility was 8.7 years and the sons were 2.4 years in average at the time of examination. The mean age of neonates at the time of delivery was 33 weeks; 42.9% were delivered prematurely; and 40.5% of them were twins. 8.6% of the sons had hypospadiasis and 7.1% had UDT. Most of the side effects were due to prematurity. In total 6 of fathers had karyotype anomaly, meanwhile 4 of their sons had also karyotype anomaly. Only one son had karyotype anomaly without affected father. No case of Y chromosome microdeletion was found in the fathers. Conclusion: Y chromosome microdeletion is not prevalent in fathers with successful ICSI and it is not necessary to be analyzed before ICSI performance. Karyotype anomaly may transmit to the sons. All together ICSI is reliable and safe. Most of the complications are the result of premature delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Background: This study was conducted to determine if serum inhibin B concentration can predict spermatogenesis in azoospermic infertile men., Methods: 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., Results: 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 (P<0.05). 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 (P>0.05)., Conclusion: Inhibin B concentration is not an appropriate predicting factor for testicular spermatogenesis.