Moral Identity, Moral Disengagement, and Online Behaviour from Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have become the most popular medium for social communication amongst adolescents and young adults. However, there is growing concern surrounding heightened ICT use and the development and activation of influential social constructs such as moral identity and moral disengagement. The importance of moral ideals to oneself (i.e., moral identity) and the distancing of oneself from these moral ideals (i.e., moral disengagement) are often contextual and may differ in online domains when compared to traditional face-to-face interactions. Developing youth consistently report high moral identity adherence within family and friend contexts during moral development, yet these constructs have not been assessed within an online setting. This investigation reports that self-reported online moral identity was significantly lower when compared to family and friend contexts. This effect remained stable across early adolescent (n = 97), middle to late adolescent (n = 170), and young adult (n = 112) age groups. Further, moral disengagement was significantly higher within online interactions when compared to face-to-face contexts and online moral disengagement significantly mediated the relationship between online moral identity and immoral online behaviours (i.e., pirating, trolling, & hacking). Male participants reported significantly higher moral disengagement and all forms of antisocial behaviours, while female participants reported significantly higher online moral identity

Moral Identity, Moral Disengagement, and Online Behaviour from Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have become the most popular medium for social communication amongst adolescents and young adults. However, there is growing concern surrounding heightened ICT use and the development and activation of influential social constructs such as moral identity and moral disengagement. The importance of moral ideals to oneself (i.e., moral identity) and the distancing of oneself from these moral ideals (i.e., moral disengagement) are often contextual and may differ in online domains when compared to traditional face-to-face interactions. Developing youth consistently report high moral identity adherence within family and friend contexts during moral development, yet these constructs have not been assessed within an online setting. This investigation reports that self-reported online moral identity was significantly lower when compared to family and friend contexts. This effect remained stable across early adolescent (n = 97), middle to late adolescent (n = 170), and young adult (n = 112) age groups. Further, moral disengagement was significantly higher within online interactions when compared to face-to-face contexts and online moral disengagement significantly mediated the relationship between online moral identity and immoral online behaviours (i.e., pirating, trolling, & hacking). Male participants reported significantly higher moral disengagement and all forms of antisocial behaviours, while female participants reported significantly higher online moral identity

Autofluorescence multispectral image analysis at the macroscopic scale for tracking wheat grain tissues: a novel approach for a more specific identification of wheat grain dietary fibre

Wheat grain contains about 12-14% of fibres mainly located in the outer layers. The composition and the structure of wheat dietary fibres, as well as the nature and amount of co-passengers, vary according to the tissue where they are originated from. The aleurone layer is rich in low substituted arabinoxylans esterified to ferulic acid whereas outer pericarp contains highly substituted arabinoxylans but also cellulose and lignin. Consequently wheat dietary fibres properties showed a high variability according to their tissue of origin within the grain, which deeply impact their nutritional effects. If the identification of tissues in wheat grain is commonly performed, it remains challenging for food ingredient such as mill streams (flour, bran etc).Equipements are now available to acquire multispectral fluorescence images at the macroscopic scale using filters with specific excitation/emission wavelengths. These fluorescence macroscopes allow obtaining images of a representative number of particles together with a spatial resolution of less than 3 μm. In such images, the intensities measured for each pixel, though they are not spectra, can be assembled to form spectral profiles. To identify the tissular origin from this information, we propose to develop a prediction model on particles using calibration data coming from the observation of tissue sections. This approach is based on several assumptions. The first one is that the multispectral autofluorescence of plant tissues is specific and the second is that it is possible to measure fluorescence intensities in a reproducible way. The objective of the present work was to check the fluorescence macroscope as an efficient device for measuring and comparing fluorescence intensities.The variability of fluorescence profiles was studied by selecting pixels in cross-section or in particles mounted in air or in water. The statistical variations were studied by principal component analysis and variance analysis. The first effect, mainly described by principal component 1, was to differentiate aleurone layer from pericarp tissue. The second effect, mainly described by component 2, was a difference between the two mounting media. The differences between sections or powders were not correlated to the other factors and were considered as not significant. Our results show that profiles extracted from multispectral images of cross-sections or particles are similar and allow the identification of wheat grain tissues. If implemented, the prediction from cross-section could be less tedious than other methods requiring dissection and lead to the identification of more tissues. We have demonstrated the proof of concept of tracking wheat dietary fibre origin by predicting tissues on images of particles. This method could help to better qualify flours and various milling fractions as well as to control whole grain products

The use of muscle strength assessed with handheld dynamometers as a non-invasive biological marker in myotonic dystrophy type 1 patients: a multicenter study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a multisystem disorder that demonstrates variable symptoms and rates of progression. Muscle weakness is considered one of the main problems with a clinical picture that is characterized by distal weakness of the limbs progressing to proximal weakness. The main objective of this study was to characterize the maximal strength of ankle eversion and dorsiflexion in DM1 patients. Manual and handheld dynamometer (HHD) muscle testing were also compared.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The maximal strength of 22 patients from Quebec (mean age = 41,1 ± 13,8) and 24 from Lyon (mean age = 41,6 ± 10,2) were compared to 16 matched controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>With the use of HHD, an excellent reproducibility of the torque measurements was obtained for both centers in eversion (R²= 0,94/Quebec; 0,89/Lyon) and dorsiflexion (R²= 0,96/Quebec; 0,90/Lyon). The differences between 3 groups of DM1 (mild, moderate, severe) and between them and controls were all statistically significant (p < 0,001). No statistical differences between sites were observed (p > 0.05). The degree of muscle strength decline in dorsiflexion (eversion) were 60% (47%), 77% (71%), and 87% (83%) for DM1 with mild, moderate, and severe impairments, respectively. The smallest mean difference between all DM1 patients taking together was 2.3 Nm, a difference about twice than the standard error of measurement. There was a strong relationship between eversion and dorsiflexion strength profiles (R²= 0,87;Quebec/0,80;Lyon). Using a 10-point scale, manual muscle testing could not discriminate between the 3 groups of DM1 patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The HHD protocol showed discriminative properties suitable for multicentre therapeutic trial. The present results confirmed the capacity of quantitative muscle testing to discriminate between healthy and DM1 patients with different levels of impairments. This study is a preliminary step for the implementation of a valid, reliable and responsive clinical outcome for the measurement of muscle impairments with this population.</p

In vitro gastrointestinal digestion study of two wheat cultivars and evaluation of xylanase supplementation

International audienceBackground: The filamentous fungus Talaromyces versatilis is known to improve the metabolizable energy of wheat-based poultry diets thanks to its ability to produce a pool of CAZymes and particularly endo-beta(1,4)-xylanases. In order to appreciate their in vivo mode of action, the supplementation effect of two of its xylanases, XynD and XynB from families GH10 and GH11 respectively, have been evaluated on two different wheat cultivars Caphorn and Isengrain, which were chosen amongst 6 varieties for their difference in non starch polysaccharides content and arabinoxylan composition. Results: Polysaccharides digestion was followed during 6 h along the digestive tract using the TNO gastrointestinal model-1, to mimic monogastric metabolism. Polysaccharide degradation appeared to occur mainly at the jejunal level and was higher with Isengrain than with Caphorn. For both cultivars, XynD and XynB supplementation increased notably the amount of reducing end sugars into the jejuno-ileal dialysates, which has been confirmed by a valuable increase of the soluble glucose into the jejunal dialysates. Conclusions: The amounts of arabinose and xylose into the dialysates and ileal deliveries increased consequently mainly for Caphorn, suggesting that XynD and XynB supplementation in wheat-based diet could alleviate the anti-nutritional effects of arabinoxylans by limiting the physical entrapment of starch and could increase the available metabolizable energy

Hemodynamic Changes during a Deep Inspiration Maneuver Predict Fluid Responsiveness in Spontaneously Breathing Patients

Objective. We hypothesized that the hemodynamic response to a deep inspiration maneuver (DIM) indicates fluid responsiveness in spontaneously breathing (SB) patients. Design. Prospective study. Setting. ICU of a general hospital. Patients. Consecutive nonintubated patients without mechanical ventilation, considered for volume expansion (VE). Intervention. We assessed hemodynamic status at baseline and after VE. Measurements and Main Results. We measured radial pulse pressure (PP) using an arterial catheter and peak velocity of femoral artery flow (VF) using continuous Doppler. Changes in PP and VF induced by a DIM (ΔPPdim and ΔVFdim) were calculated in 23 patients. ΔPPdim and ΔVFdim ≥12% predicted responders to VE with sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 100%. Conclusions. In a restricted population of SB patients with severe sepsis or acute pancreatitis, ΔPPdim and ΔVFdim are accurate indices for predicting fluid responsiveness. These results should be confirmed in a larger population before validating their use in current practice

RNA interference suppression of genes in glycosyl transferase families 43 and 47 in wheat starchy endosperm causes large decreases in arabinoxylan content

The cell walls of wheat (Triticum aestivum) starchy endosperm are dominated by arabinoxylan (AX), accounting for 65% to 70% of the polysaccharide content. Genes within two glycosyl transferase (GT) families, GT43 (IRREGULAR XYLEM9 [IRX9] and IRX14) and GT47 (IRX10), have previously been shown to be involved in the synthesis of the xylan backbone in Arabidopsis, and close homologs of these have been implicated in the synthesis of xylan in other species. Here, homologs of IRX10 TaGT47_2 and IRX9 TaGT43_2, which are highly expressed in wheat starchy endosperm cells, were suppressed by RNA interference (RNAi) constructs driven by a starchy endosperm-specific promoter. The total amount of AX was decreased by 40% to 50% and the degree of arabinosylation was increased by 25% to 30% in transgenic lines carrying either of the transgenes. The cell walls of starchy endosperm in sections of grain from TaGT43_2 and TaGT47_2 RNAi transgenics showed decreased immunolabeling for xylan and arabinoxylan epitopes and approximately 50% decreased cell wall thickness compared with controls. The proportion of AX that was water soluble was not significantly affected, but average AX polymer chain length was decreased in both TaGT43_2 and TaGT47_2 RNAi transgenics. However, the long AX chains seen in controls were absent in TaGT43_2 RNAi transgenics but still present in TaGT47_2 RNAi transgenics. The results support an emerging picture of IRX9-like and IRX10-like proteins acting as key components in the xylan synthesis machinery in both dicots and grasses. Since AX is the main component of dietary fiber in wheat foods, the TaGT43_2 and TaGT47_2 genes are of major importance to human nutrition

Comparison of different twin-screw extraction conditions for the production of arabinoxylans

The aim of this article is to compare two different sets of optimal conditions for twin-screw extraction of xylans and define their influence on the purification steps, combining ultrafiltration and industrial chromatography. Two xylan extracts were obtained by twin-screw extrusion of straw and bran. Condition 1 used a high straw/bran ratio (equal to 6) and high sodium hydroxide content, and condition 2 used a lower straw/bran ratio (equal to 2) and low sodium hydroxide content. Arabinoxylan extraction yields are slightly higher for conditions with low straw content (5.1% versus 4.4%). Nevertheless, these recovery yields remain between 9% and 10%. Ultrafiltration is as efficient as evaporation for polysaccharide concentration, with lower energy consumption, but also demineralizes the solution. The combination of ultrafiltration and chromatography gives partial purification of the extract with a final arabinoxylan purity ranging from 16% to 26%. This is slightly higher than by direct precipitation, but limited because all the large molecules such as proteins and lignins were retained by ultrafiltration

Performance evaluation of a semi-industrial production process of arabinoxylans from wheat bran

A process for hemicellulose fractionation and purification from wheat straw and bran has been investigated. The aim was to define the efficiency of a pilot scale process combining twin-screw extrusion and refining steps such as ultrafiltration and chromatography, to replace alcoholic precipitation. Extraction by twin-screw extrusion gave a complex extract containing only 22.7% carbohydrates. Evaporation (EV) followed by ethanol precipitation (P) and freeze-drying (FD), gave a 25.7% arabinoxylan yield with 24.1% arabinoxylan content. The other purification process studied was based on a combination of ultrafiltration (UF), anion exchange chromatography (CHR) and freeze-drying (FD), without precipitation. It gave a 24.3% yield of arabinoxylans into the hemicellulosic powders and 13.9% arabinoxylan content. Despite the obvious interest of using ultrafiltration for demineralization and anion exchange chromatography for decoloration, the purity of the final powder is still too low, because of difficulties in achieving separation of proteins and hemicelluloses and concentration of the solution, in the same step