Since initial identification in China, the widespread geographical occurrence of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene mcr-1 in Enterobacteriaceae has been of great concern. In this study, a total of 22 Salmonella enterica were resistant to colistin, while only five isolates which belonged to ST34 Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) were mcr-1 positive. Four of them shared nearly identical PFGE type, although they were from different host species and diverse geographical locations. All the mcr-1-positive S. Typhimurium exhibited multi-resistant phenotypes including ampicillin, streptomycin, gentamicin, florfenicol, nalidixic acid, tetracycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethox, in addition to colistin. The oqxAB and aac(6′)-Ib-cr genes were present alone or in combination in four (80.0%) and five (100%) isolates, respectively. The mcr-1 gene was located on a transferable IncI2 plasmid in the four genetically related strains. In the other one strain, mcr-1 was located on an approximately 190 kb IncHI2 plasmid. In conclusion, we report five mcr-1-positive S. Typhimurium/ST34 isolates. Both clonal expansion and horizontal transmission of IncI2-type plasmids were involved in the spread of the mcr-1 gene in Salmonella enterica from food-producing animals in China. There is a great need to monitor the potential dissemination of the mcr-1 gene.

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This study examines the impact of brand logo colorfulness on consumer judgments toward a brand and its products. Four experiments demonstrate that the colorfulness of a brand logo affects consumers' perception of the product variety offered by the brand. When consumers feel that a brand logo is colorful, they tend to infer that the brand offers a high variety of product options to its customers. Driven by the perception of product variety, logo colorfulness has downstream consequences on consumer attitudes, an effect that can be moderated by brand positioning. Together, this study introduces the effects of logo colorfulness on consumer judgments, contributes to the psychological literature on color and variety, and bears important practical implications regarding how designers and marketers can practically determine a brand logo that best serves the brand image.

This study investigated the effect of numerical customer identification (i.e., assigning numbers to identify customers) in the service context on the numbered customers' reaction to service failures. We manipulated numerical identification in different ways (room number, customer number, table number, and order number) and measured customers' tolerance of services across various settings (in a restaurant, a spa, and a café) in four studies. The results demonstrated that after being identified by a number, customers tend to exhibit a higher tolerance of service failures (Studies 1 and 2), and this effect is mediated by a sense of self‐dehumanization among the numerically identified customers (Study 3). Moreover, the investigated effect diminished when customers had heightened individuation (e.g., by disclosing personal information) to buffer against dehumanization (Study 4). Our findings contribute to the underexplored research area on customer identification, broaden the numerical research and dehumanization literature in marketing, and bring practical implications for firms to mitigate the negative effects of service failures and decrease customer dissatisfaction.

This research examines consumer reactions to handcrafted products under control deprivation. Four studies reveal that while a positive handmade effect exists among consumers whose sense of personal control is not threatened, a negative handmade effect appears for those consumers under control deprivation. That is, consumers show less favorable attitudes toward handcrafted products when their sense of personal control is threatened. This effect appears because the lower psychological ownership of handcrafted (vs. regular) products cannot instrumentally help restore consumers' sense of personal control. The negative handmade effect under control deprivation is mitigated when consumers can customize the product based on their own preferences. The current research is among the first to show how the handcrafted nature of products can backfire and lead to negative reactions among consumers (i.e., a negative handmade effect). Our findings also shed light on the antecedents and consequences of psychological product ownership and add to the current knowledge of personal control in the consumption domain.