Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply conservation of resource (COR) theory and the buffering hypothesis of social support to explore occupational stress and its negative outcomes such as job engagement and turnover intentions for front-line hospitality industry employees in the People’s Republic of China. Design/methodology/approach Primary data were collected in two waves from 318 front-line employees in a chain of restaurants located in the eastern region of the People’s Republic of China. Findings Integrating COR theory and the buffering hypothesis of social support, job satisfaction is found to be a mediating mechanism in the relationships between occupational stress and job engagement and occupational stress and employee turnover intentions for front-line hospitality industry workers. Moreover, the authors found the boundary condition role of work-social support. The relationships between stress and its negative outcomes are weak for the employees receiving high social support at work. Originality/value This study calls for researchers’ attention towards the issues of occupational stress focussing on the implications of work-social support for front-line hospitality industry employees.

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Non-secretor status due to homozygosity for the common FUT2 variant c.461G>A (p.Trp154*) is associated with either risk for autoimmune diseases or protection against viral diarrhea and HIV. We determined the role of FUT2 in otitis media susceptibility by obtaining DNA samples from 609 multi-ethnic families and simplex case subjects with otitis media. Exome and Sanger sequencing, linkage analysis, and Fisher exact and transmission disequilibrium tests (TDT) were performed. The common FUT2 c.604C>T (p.Arg202*) variant co-segregates with otitis media in a Filipino pedigree (LOD ¼ 4.0). Additionally, a rare variant, c.412C>T (p.Arg138Cys), is associated with recurrent/chronic otitis media in European-American children (p ¼ 1.2 3 10 À5) and US trios (TDT p ¼ 0.01). The c.461G>A (p.Trp154*) variant was also overtransmitted in US trios (TDT p ¼ 0.01) and was associated with shifts in middle ear microbiota composition (PERMANOVA p < 10 À7) and increased biodiversity. When all missense and nonsense variants identified in multi-ethnic US trios with CADD > 20 were combined, FUT2 variants were over-transmitted in trios (TDT p ¼ 0.001). Fut2 is transiently upregulated in mouse middle ear after inoculation with non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae. Four FUT2 variants-namely p.Ala104Val, p.Arg138Cys, p.Trp154*, and p.Arg202*-reduced A antigen in mutant-transfected COS-7 cells, while the nonsense variants also reduced FUT2 protein levels. Common and rare FUT2 variants confer susceptibility to otitis media, likely by modifying the middle ear microbiome through regulation of A antigen levels in epithelial cells. Our families demonstrate marked intra-familial genetic heterogeneity, suggesting that multiple combinations of common and rare variants plus environmental factors influence the individual otitis media phenotype as a complex trait.

The basic purpose of this study is to understand the impact of brand experience, brand reputation, and brand love on electronic word of mouth (eWOM) in the Smartphone industry. The primary data includes 312 valid responses collected through a survey conducted in Bahawalpur city of Punjab Province, Pakistan. Findings have shown that Smartphone brand reputation and brand experience is positively associated with consumers' brand love and eWOM. Moreover, consumers' brand love has been found as a mediator in the relationships between (a) brand reputation and eWOM and (b) brand experience and eWOM. This study will increase awareness among the managers and other policy makers about the importance of brand love and other factors in getting eWOM particularly in Smartphone industry and generally in others. Limitations of the study, directions for future research, and policy guidelines are discussed.

Introduction: Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) were evaluated, in this paper, for their utility as a reliable test, using resource-constrained studies. In most studies, NS1 antigen and immunoglobulin M (IgM)-based immunochromatographic tests (ICTs) were considered for acute phase detection. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of NS1, IgM, and NS1/IgM-based ICTs to detect acute dengue virus (DENV) infection in dengue-endemic regions. Methods: Studies were electronically identified using the following databases: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and CINAHL Plus. Keywords including dengue, rapid diagnostic test, immunochromatography, sensitivity, specificity, and diagnosis were applied across databases. In total, 15 studies were included. Quality assessment of the included studies was performed using the QUADAS-2 tool. All statistical analyses were conducted using RevMan, MedCalc, and SPSS software. Results: The studies revealed a total of 4135 individuals, originating largely from the Americas and Asia. The prevalence of DENV cases was 53.8%. Pooled sensitivities vs. specificities for NS1 (only), IgM (only) and combined NS1/IgM were 70.97% vs. 94.73%, 40.32% vs. 93.01%, and 78.62% vs. 88.47%, respectively. Diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of DENV for NS1 ICTs was 43.95 (95% CI: 36.61–52.78), for IgM only ICTs was 8.99 (95% CI: 7.25–11.16), and for NS1/IgM ICTs was 28.22 (95% CI: 24.18–32.95). ELISA ICTs yielded a DOR of 21.36, 95% CI: 17.08–26.741. RT-PCR had a DOR of 40.43, 95% CI: 23.3–71.2. Heterogeneity tests for subgroup analysis by ICT manufacturers for NS1 ICTs revealed an χ2 finding of 158.818 (df = 8), p < 0.001, whereas for IgM ICTs, the χ2 finding was 21.698 (df = 5), p < 0.001. Conclusion: NS1-based ICTs had the highest diagnostic accuracy in acute phases of DENV infection. Certain factors influenced the pooled sensitivity, including ICT manufacturers, nature of the infection, reference method (RT-PCR), and serotypes. Prospective studies may examine the best strategy for incorporating ICTs for dengue diagnosis.