Buying into a regional brand: The naming of Central Otago wineries

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the meanings and sources of winery names in the Central Otago wine region. In particular, two questions are addressed: To what extent are the elements of the Central Otago regional wine story apparent in the winery names of the region? Are there discernible differences in the elements emphasised in the more established wineries and those that have been launched more recently

Place-based marketing and wine tourism: creating a point of difference and economic sustainability for small wineries

The purpose of this paper is to explore how small-scale wineries and wine regions create a point of difference and economic sustainability in a competitive marketplace through utilizing regional place branding and cellar door visitation. This research is based on qualitative, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with winery owners/managers and additional wine and tourism stakeholders in a single case study: The Central Otago wine region in the South Island of New Zealand. In total, 39 interviews were conducted in 2007 and 2010. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded and categorized for analysis. Place marketing is a significant factor in the success of both regional and individual wine marketing initiatives, as it serves as a strategy of differentiation. Desirable regional attributes, as well as emotionally-appealing stories of the people and processes behind wine production, have been used deliberately by respondents in the marketing of Central Otago wine products and experiences. Respondents suggest that one of the most effective ways to facilitate a positive association between place and their product in the minds of consumers is through winery visitation, whereby visitors come to associate the region’s wines with the landscape and beauty of the area that they experience. Visitors also have the opportunity to experience the stories behind the wine, building emotional connections with the winery, and the region, which may ultimately lead to brand loyalty

The impact of SARS-CoV-2 in dementia across Latin America : A call for an urgent regional plan and coordinated response

The SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic will disproportionately impact countries with weak economies and vulnerable populations including people with dementia. Latin American and Caribbean countries (LACs) are burdened with unstable economic development, fragile health systems, massive economic disparities, and a high prevalence of dementia. Here, we underscore the selective impact of SARS-CoV-2 on dementia among LACs, the specific strain on health systems devoted to dementia, and the subsequent effect of increasing inequalities among those with dementia in the region. Implementation of best practices for mitigation and containment faces particularly steep challenges in LACs. Based upon our consideration of these issues, we urgently call for a coordinated action plan, including the development of inexpensive mass testing and multilevel regional coordination for dementia care and related actions. Brain health diplomacy should lead to a shared and escalated response across the region, coordinating leadership, and triangulation between governments and international multilateral networks

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Winery entrepreneurs rooted in “Their Place”: how lifestyle decisions, business motivations and perceptions of place influence business practices and regional initiatives in the wine and tourism industries

This thesis explores the characteristics, motivations and business practices of winery entrepreneurs involved in tourism in two rural, New World wine regions: Central Otago, New Zealand and The Finger Lakes, New York, United States. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with winery owners, managers and additional stakeholders across these regions in 2007. This research clarifies and expands on current understandings of winery entrepreneurship and rural place identity by drawing on multiple disciplines, including tourism, wine, marketing, rural studies, cultural geography, entrepreneurship and business management. The study offers an analysis of the influence of “place” on the entrepreneurial process, and the influence winery entrepreneurs have on a place. It contributes to an understanding of the entrepreneurship concept by analysing the factors that motivate entrepreneurs, and influence their behaviours. In these rural wine regions, the entrepreneurial process is an economic activity that is also driven by the motivations of individuals seeking to fulfil their personal goals. A typology of winery ownership has been developed from the data that may be extended beyond these regions. Analysis identified three types- status-seeking winery entrepreneurs, subsistence-seeking winery entrepreneurs, and lifestyle-seeking winery owners. Individuals possess combinations of motivations and goals, which may evolve over time from changes in contextual or personal circumstances. Based on these types, this research explores how differences in motivations and attachments to place influence how an entrepreneur acts. In particular, this thesis focuses on the lifestyle decisions and business practices related to three issues highlighted as particularly important by research respondents: Tourism, Marketing and Seasonality. The research analyses collaborative regional efforts to influence tourism, marketing and seasonality management, and the challenges that result from conflicting stakeholder agendas and goals. Intertwined in these conflicts are broader disagreements as to how individuals work collaboratively, how they perceive and promote tourism, how they see this place and the trajectory of future regional development. Taken together, the wine and tourism industries provide a particularly useful forum to explore the various entrepreneurial motivations, and how these play out in business practices and collective regional initiatives: the decisions and actions of an individual business can impact all businesses in the region, given producers and operators rely on a collective name and reputation to market their products. While wineries act individually, collective decisions of wineries in the region ultimately influence the development of the region through physical impacts, land use, business practices and representations of a place. This complex phenomenon is represented by a theoretical model, developed to conceptualise findings and address research objectives. The model of Winery Entrepreneurship Process and Place Identity Development (WEPPID) helps explain differences between study regions and can be applied to other places, to be used as a framework to conceptualise the various components that contribute to and influence the entrepreneurial process and place identity development. The entrepreneurial typology and WEPPID model are effective tools for practitioners and researchers, and contributes to our understanding of entrepreneurship in a rural wine and tourism context

Seasonality and the lifestyle "conundrum": An analysis of lifestyle entrepreneurship in wine tourism regions

This study explores the importance of non-economic, personal and family lifestyle goals in the establishment of rural wine tourism operations and how these lifestyle goals influence the decisions and actions of owners as they relate to seasonality management, particularly surrounding wine tourism involvement. It also explores the ways in which lifestyle-oriented operations may be deemed "problematic" at the destination level in relation to managing for tourism seasonality. The wine and tourism industries provide particularly useful contexts to explore entrepreneurial lifestyle motivations and how these play out in efforts to manage seasonality. Both the wine and tourism industries are highly seasonal, and rely on cooperation for regional initiatives to manage seasonality, through events or marketing, particularly when the businesses are small scale and located in peripheral areas. However, if the lifestyle or personal goals of some owners are at odds with the profit maximization goals of other owners, then developing a cohesive regional strategy can be a problem. The trends identified here reflect the challenges faced in many wine regions and in other rural areas that attract a diversity of business owners, including lifestyle-oriented business owners. © 2011 Copyright Asia Pacific Tourism Association

The impact of SARS-CoV-2 in dementia across Latin America: A call for an urgent regional plan and coordinated response.

The SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic will disproportionately impact countries with weak economies and vulnerable populations including people with dementia. Latin American and Caribbean countries (LACs) are burdened with unstable economic development, fragile health systems, massive economic disparities, and a high prevalence of dementia. Here, we underscore the selective impact of SARS-CoV-2 on dementia among LACs, the specific strain on health systems devoted to dementia, and the subsequent effect of increasing inequalities among those with dementia in the region. Implementation of best practices for mitigation and containment faces particularly steep challenges in LACs. Based upon our consideration of these issues, we urgently call for a coordinated action plan, including the development of inexpensive mass testing and multilevel regional coordination for dementia care and related actions. Brain health diplomacy should lead to a shared and escalated response across the region, coordinating leadership, and triangulation between governments and international multilateral networks