The concept of the organic serves as a keyword capturing emerging practices and epistemologies through which Africans navigate increasingly toxic lifeworlds. Noting a growing preoccupation with this term, the authors unpack its meaning based on their ethnographic fieldwork concerning two East African idioms: kienyeji and kiasili. What it means to be(come) organic is tied to older notions such as life flow, tradition, and the natural. Tracing how this concept engages with central themes in Africanist debates, the authors demonstrate that an Africanist theorizing about it foregrounds critical claims about the vitality of bodies and the viability of environments.

Vitamin C-rich foods can improve mood; however, the timecourse of these benefits is unknown. This study utilised intensive longitudinal smartphone surveys from a three-armed placebo-controlled trial to determine mood-related changes following supplementation with vitamin C (250 mg tablet/d), kiwifruit (2 SunGold™ kiwifruit/d) or a placebo (1 tablet/d). Secondary data were analysed from the KiwiC for Vitality trial (Trial ID: ACTRN12617001031358). Adults (n 155, 63 % female, aged 18–35 years) with low plasma vitamin C (<40 μmol/l) completed a 14-d lead-in, 28-d intervention and 14-d washout. Participants self-reported vitality (SF-36), mood (POMS total mood disturbance), flourishing (flourishing scale), sleep quality, sleep quantity and physical activity every second day using smartphone surveys. Plasma vitamin C, measured fortnightly, reached saturation after 2 weeks of vitamin C or kiwifruit supplementation. Kiwifruit supplementation improved vitality and mood within 4 days, peaking around 14–16 days, and improved flourishing from day 14. Vitamin C marginally improved mood until day 12. Incremental AUC analyses revealed significant overall effects of kiwifruit consumption on vitality and mood compared with placebo, which were stronger than effects for vitamin C tablets, but attenuated when adjusting for covariates. Sensitivity analyses of participants with low baseline vitamin C status revealed improved mood (vitamin C and kiwifruit) and flourishing (kiwifruit only). This is the first study to use intensive smartphone surveys to model the day-to-day timecourse of mood-related states following vitamin C intervention and highlights the value of using smartphone surveys to reveal the temporal changes in mood-related outcomes following nutrient supplementation.

More people are working into older age, raising questions about how many hours they can work before their health becomes compromised. This paper models work-hour tipping points for mental health and vitality among older Australian workers aged 50–70 years. We use longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, 2005–2016 (about 44,900 observations), and bootstrapping Three Stage Least Squares (3SLS) estimation techniques to adjust for reverse and reciprocal relationships between wages, work hours and health. Our approach corrects for heteroscedasticity in the system equation error terms, and we estimate models on the relatively healthy older adults who have remained employed into older age. Among these older workers we observe weekly thresholds of 39–40 hours beyond which mental health and vitality decline. This average, however, hides variability in work-hour limits linked to overall health and occupation. Thus, weekly tipping points for blue- and pink-collar jobs are 7–9 hours lower compared to white-collar jobs, and even wider gaps (11 hours) are apparent for workers with poorer physical functioning, which becomes common as people age. Our modelling reveals that age is not the biggest limiting factor for how many hours older adults can work, rather their health and the types of jobs are critical, and likely widen the gap in who ages successfully or not.

We examine the relationship between transformational leadership and job improvement behaviors by considering the moderating effect of leader extraversion and the mediating role of employee vitality. Multi-level path analysis on data from 101 leaders and 619 subordinates provided support to the moderating effect of leader extraversion, such that the relationship between transformational leadership and employee vitality is stronger when the level of leader extraversion is high. Moreover, a moderated mediation procedure showed that the indirect effect of transformational leadership on job improvement via employee vitality was conditional to the level of leader extraversion. We highlight the original contributions of these findings by discussing the moderating role of leader extraversion as an understudied theoretical alternative to its already well-explored role as an antecedent to leadership behaviors. On a practical level, our results indicate that organizations should consider not only what leaders do (transformational leadership behaviors) but also how these behaviors are contextualized by leaders’ typical approach (extraversion) to instill a maximum of positive emotion such as vitality in employees.

Xanthoria parietina is a widespread foliose lichen growing on barks and rocks showing a broad spectrum of tolerance to air pollutants such as NOX and heavy metals, and resistance to UV-radiation because of the screening properties provided by the secondary metabolite parietin. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of this lichen species to survive in the following simulated space conditions, UV-radiation in N2 atmosphere and UV-radiation in vacuum. The efficiency of the photosynthetic apparatus was used as an indicator of vitality, and was expressed in terms of chlorophyll a fluorescence (FV/FM) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which were measured within 72 h from the exposure. Additionally, during the irradiation, the IR reflectance spectrum of the lichen was monitored in situ to assess changes in spectral bands. The results showed significant differences in physiological recovery trends between the treatments, highlighting that UV-radiation in vacuum causes stronger effects on FV/FM values. The IR analysis revealed several spectral band changes in the fingerprint region. The most visible variation was the 5200 cm−1 water band that disappeared in the overtone region. Nevertheless, X. parietina was able to survive UV-radiation in N2 atmosphere and in vacuum, and for this reason it may be considered a candidate for further evaluations on its survival capacity in extreme conditions.

This article examines Eleo Pomare's concept of vitality in his piece Blues for the Jungle (1966) as a black aesthetic approach to choreography. Vitality seeks to connect with black audiences in Harlem by referencing and affirming shared cultural knowledge, conveying an embodied epistemology of the US political economy defined by the lived experiences of Harlem: “Harlem knows.” Using a lens of diaspora citation, I argue that Pomare's choreographic citations of “vital” ways of moving and knowing in Harlem critique the terms for “proper” national belonging, while articulating diasporic belonging in motion.

Pre-weaning mortality represents a major economic loss and welfare concern for the global pork industry. Caffeine administration prior to, or after, parturition positively affects metabolic parameters associated with survival in newborn animals. However, its effects on piglet viability and survival when administered within the first 24 h of life have not been evaluated. This study determined the effect of caffeine treatment during the 24 h postpartum period on piglet viability, growth and survival. Piglets received 30 or 0 mg of caffeine orally at birth or 8 to 12 h following birth and again at 24 h. Vitality, meconium staining and blood lactate were assessed at birth. Time to first reach the udder and suckle was recorded. Body weight and rectal temperature were measured at 10 min, 24 and 72 h after birth. A blood sample for analysis of serum immunoglobulin G was collected at 24 h, and BW and survival were monitored to 20 days of age. Caffeine had no effect on body temperature, blood glucose, serum immunoglobulin G concentration or weight (P > 0.05). However, when caffeine was administered at birth, it significantly increased 24 h mortality in piglets (P < 0.05). Piglet mortality between birth and weaning also tended to be higher for piglets receiving caffeine at birth (P = 0.063). These data demonstrate that caffeine administration to piglets at birth, but not 8 to 12 h after birth, impaired piglet survival. Further research into caffeine dosage and timing postpartum is required to establish its efficacy.

Pine wilt disease, which is caused by the pine wood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, has caused huge damage to pine forests around the world. In this study, we analysed the PWN transcriptome to investigate the expression of genes related to the associated bacterial species Pseudomonas fluorescens and found that the gene adh-1 encoding alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) was upregulated. The open reading frame of adh-1, which encoded a protein of 352 amino acid residues, was cloned from B. xylophilus. Recombinant ADH with a relative molecular weight of 39 kDa, was present mainly in inclusion bodies and was overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and purified after refolding. The biochemical assay revealed that recombinant ADH could catalyse the dehydrogen reaction of eight tested alcohols including ethanol in the presence of NAD+. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis indicated that ethanol upregulated adh-1 expression in PWN. Results of RNA interference and inhibition of ADH treatment indicated that downregulating expression of adh-1 or inhibition of ADH could reduce ethanol tolerance and the vitality and reproduction ability of B. xylophilus, suggesting that adh-1 is involved in pathogenicity of PWN.

The Subjective Vitality Scale (SVS) assess the subjective experience of being full of energy and alive, a clinically relevant outcome measure of positive psychological well-being. The purpose of this paper was to translate the 7-item SVS into Spanish and examine its psychometric properties. In Study 1 (n = 790 adolescents) and Study 2 (n = 130 athletes) reliability and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were carried out. In Study 1 and Study 3 (n = 197 dancers) evidence of validity of inferences based on SVS scores estimating relationships with other variables (life satisfaction, global self-esteem and emotional and physical exhaustion) was obtained. In Study 2 invariance across time was tested. Finally in Study 3, the factorial structure was cross-validated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results of EFA showed a one-factor solution. CFA also supported a unidimensional factor structure for the Spanish 6-item SVS (RMSEA = .050 (90% CI = .00, .080); NNFI = .993; CFI = .996). Reliability analysis indicated a strong internal consistency in all study samples (α ranged from .82 to .89). Further, results from multi-sample analysis supported the replicability of SVS factor structure across time. Finally, the SVS scores showed the expected correlations patterns (all them significant, p < .01) with the measured outcomes. In conclusion, the Spanish version of the SVS demonstrated adequate psychometric properties, indicating that the scale can be confidently used to measure the experience of possessing energy and aliveness; furthermore, differences across time can be meaningfully carried out.

Self-determination theory has shown that autonomy support in the classroom is associated with an increase of students’ intrinsic motivation. Moreover, intrinsic motivation is related with positive outcomes. This study examines the relationships between autonomy support, intrinsic motivation to learn and two motivational consequences, deep learning and vitality. Specifically, the hypotheses were that autonomy support predicts the two types of consequences, and that autonomy support directly and indirectly predicts the vitality and the deep learning through intrinsic motivation to learn. Participants were 276 undergraduate students. The mean age was 21.80 years (SD = 2.94). Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships between variables and delta method was used to analyze the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation to learn. Results indicated that student perception of autonomy support had a positive effect on deep learning and vitality (p < .001). In addition, these associations were mediated by intrinsic motivation to learn. These findings suggest that teachers are key elements in generating of autonomy support environment to promote intrinsic motivation, deep learning, and vitality in classroom. Educational implications are discussed.

Alarmed by the sustainability of our health and social security systems, longevity has become a great societal challenge. In line with evolutionary logic we see a continuous increase of average life expectancy and maximal lifespan. Striving for a healthy old age, however, is an infelicitous expression as for human subjects the ageing process cannot be ultimately postponed. Not disregarding the huge variation in health trajectories, in old age we will all suffer from frailty and infirmity. As yet efforts of the biomedical arena are almost exclusively focused on stalling the ageing process and preventing dysfunction. Too little effort is spend on how to inspire and coach the great majority of people who still feel relatively well notwithstanding the presence of multiple age-related disorders. There is a strong rationale to separate the quest to live in good health for longer from actively and effectively negotiating the challenge of functional decline in old age. In particular, we emphasise a focus on adjusting the environment in order to correct the gene–environment mismatch that contributes to ill health. An additional strategy is to empower people to set ambitions and to realise appropriate goals, in spite of infirmity. Striving for vitality presents a striking opportunity to achieve subjective feelings of life satisfaction when ageing.

Pig breeders in the past have adopted their breeding goals according to the needs of the producers, processors and consumers and have made remarkable genetic improvements in the traits of interest. However, it is becoming more and more challenging to meet the market needs and expectations of consumers and in general of the citizens. In view of the current and future trends, the breeding goals have to include several additional traits and new phenotypes. These phenotypes include (a) vitality from birth to slaughter, (b) uniformity at different levels of production, (c) robustness, (d) welfare and health and (e) phenotypes to reduce carbon footprint. Advancements in management, genomics, statistical models and other technologies provide opportunities for recording these phenotypes. These new developments also provide opportunities for making effective use of the new phenotypes for faster genetic improvement to meet the newly adapted breeding goals.