Online wine ecosystem: the digital narrative of Sangiovese

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how grape varieties are narrated online by non-winery-owned sources in four countries: Australia, Canada the UK and the USA. This study focuses on Sangiovese, the most important varietal of Italy. Design/methodology/approach: Texts collected on the Internet underwent a software-assisted semantic clustering procedure based on text-mining techniques. Identified clusters were then qualitatively analyzed by content. Findings: The digital narrative on Sangiovese is mainly technical and conveyed by adopting a professional slant that is suitable for knowledgeable consumers but less effective for common and unexperienced wine drinkers. Online information is concentrated in few websites that act as information gatekeepers. Research limitations/implications: The study contributes to the wine-related managerial literature on grape varieties, which are considered one of the most powerful factors in addressing consumer wine choice. Additionally, the investigation sheds light on the online wine ecosystem, by providing insights on how information is provided and the contents that are conveyed on the Internet. The findings of this study may be useful for Italian operators willing to promote Sangiovese-based wines in foreign markets. Originality/value: Though explorative in nature, this study represents one of the first attempts to investigate the online narrative of grape varieties by presenting a marketing perspective and examining the characteristics of non-winery-owned online information which may shape wine consumers’ behavior

Social networks feed the food supplements shadow market

Purpose: The paper investigates the role of social networks in the millennials’ decision-making process of illegal and unnotified food supplements purchase. The connections and interactions that (co) produce information are studied with a holistic perspective of social sustainability as a development driver of business model innovation. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory qualitative multiple analysis study was conducted in two consecutive phases. Data from 23 semi-structured individual interviews were collected, followed by a netnographic analysis of the Facebook virtual community. Findings: The results show that the decision-making process does not develop following the traditional sequence, as social networks modify the wellness meaning creation process and reduce risk perception. Moreover, social networks introduce the use of similar experiences of others and online information and emotional support on unethical and unhealthy behavior. Research limitations/implications: Due to the application to a social network, the results should be understood within this context. Future studies would benefit by expanding the target and the range of social networks explored. Practical implications: The official information quality control, as a prerogative of public and professional health stakeholders, and the medialization of medicalization, contribute to the conscious development of their wellness meanings and values. Originality/value: This work represents one of the first attempts to investigate resources integration through social networks in the pre-purchase decision-making process of unnotified and illegal food supplements. Unethical and unhealthy behavior develops through the interaction of actors, firms, influencers and individuals over social networks

Response of female Cydia molesta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) to plant derived volatiles

Peach shoot volatiles were attractive to mated female oriental fruit moth, Cydia molesta (Busck), in a dual choice arena. No preference was observed between leaf odours from the principle host plant, peach, and the secondary host plant, apple. Twenty-two compounds were identified in headspace volatiles of peach shoots using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Green leaf volatiles accounted for more than 50% of the total emitted volatiles. A bioassay-assisted fractionation using different sorbent polymers indicated an attractant effect of compounds with a chain length of 6-8 carbon atoms. The major compounds of this fraction were tested either singly or in combinations for behavioural response of females. Significant bioactivity was found for a three-component mixture of (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl acetate, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol and benzaldehyde in a 4:1:1 ratio. This synthetic mixture elicited a similar attractant effect as the full natural blend from peach shoots as well as the bioactive fractio

Ocorrência de estágios larvais de Ancylostoma spp na areia de parques públicos infantis do município de Santos, Baixada Santista

O artigo não apresenta resumo

Jasmonic acid-induced volatiles of Brassica oleracea attract parasitoids: effects of time and dose, and comparison with induction by herbivores

Caterpillar feeding induces direct and indirect defences in brassicaceous plants. This study focused on the role of the octadecanoid pathway in induced indirect defence in Brassica oleracea. The effect of induction by exogenous application of jasmonic acid (JA) on the responses of Brussels sprouts plants and on host-location behaviour of associated parasitoid wasps was studied. Feeding by the biting–chewing herbivores Pieris rapae and Plutella xylostella resulted in significantly increased endogenous levels of JA, a central component in the octadecanoid signalling pathway that mediates induced plant defence. The levels of the intermediate 12-oxophyto-dienoic acid (OPDA) were significantly induced only after P. rapae feeding. Three species of parasitoid wasps, Cotesia glomerata, C. rubecula, and Diadegma semiclausum, differing in host range and host specificity, were tested for their behavioural responses to volatiles from herbivore-induced, JA-induced, and non-induced plants. All three species were attracted to volatiles from JA-induced plants compared with control plants; however, they preferred volatiles from herbivore-induced plants over volatiles from JA-induced plants. Attraction of C. glomerata depended on both timing and dose of JA application. JA-induced plants produced larger quantities of volatiles than herbivore-induced and control plants, indicating that not only quantity, but also quality of the volatile blend is important in the host-location behaviour of the wasps

Methyl jasmonate-elicited herbivore resistance: does MeJA function as a signal without being hydrolyzed to JA?

Treatment with methyl jasmonate (MeJA) elicits herbivore resistance in many plant species and over-expression of JA carboxyl methyltransferase (JMT) constitutively increases JA-induced responses in Arabidopsis. When wild-type (WT) Nicotiana attenuata plants are treated with MeJA, a rapid transient endogenous JA burst is elicited, which in turn increases levels of nicotine and trypsin proteinase inhibitors (TPIs) and resistance to larvae of the specialist herbivore, Manduca sexta. All of these responses are impaired in plants silenced in lipoxygenase 3 expression (asLOX3) but are restored to WT levels by MeJA treatment. Whether these MeJA-induced responses are directly elicited by MeJA or by its cleavage product, JA, is unknown. Using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS), we silenced MeJA-esterase (NaMJE) expression and found this gene responsible for most of the MeJA-cleaving activity in N. attenuata protein extracts. Silencing NaMJE in asLOX3, but not in WT plants, significantly reduced MeJA-induced nicotine levels and resistance to M. sexta, but not TPI levels. MeJA-induced transcript levels of threonine deaminase (NaTD) and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (NaPAL1) were also decreased in VIGS MJE (asLOX3) plants. Finally the performance of M. sexta larvae that fed on plants treated with JA or MeJA demonstrated that silencing NaMJE inhibited MeJA-induced but not JA-induced resistance in asLOX3 plants. From these results, we conclude that the resistance elicited by MeJA treatment is directly elicited not by MeJA but by its de-methylated product, JA

The Supply Side Determinants of Territory and Conflict

What determines the geographic extent of territory? We microfound and extend Boulding’s “Loss of Strength Gradient” to predict the extensive and intensive margins of conflict across space. We show how economies of scale in the production of violence and varying costs of projecting violence at a distance combine to affect the geographic distribution of conflict and territory. We test and probe the boundaries of this model in an experiment varying the fixed costs of conflict entry. As predicted, higher fixed costs increase the probability of exclusive territories; median behavior closely tracks equilibrium predictions in all treatments