Graduates of Character - Values and Character: Higher Education and Graduate Employment

Graduates of Character is the product of an empirical enquiry into the values, virtues, dispositions and attitudes of a sample of students and employees who volunteered to be involved. The research team sought host sites which would offer a diverse set of interviewees in gender, ethnicity, religion and aspiration. In this study we discuss what character is taken to mean by students and employees in their years of higher education and employment. We examine what their values are, what they gain from the university, what they believe employers look for when recruiting, what they hope to give to an employer, and what they expect from their employer. We then explore who or what influenced their values and moral development. We also examined the role of the personal tutor or mentor, and the persons or services to which they might go for personal and/or professional support

Skipping Meals and its Possible Effects on Lipid Profile of Purposively Selected Civil Servants in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria

Skipping meals and its possible effects on lipid profile of purposively selected civil servants in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria was carried out by purposively selecting a total of 35 volunteer human adults. Questionnaires were used to assess the dietary habit while standard biochemical methods were employed for the lipid profile. The results from the anthropometric measurements showed that the mean weights (kg), heights (m), and body mass indices (BMI) (kg/m2) were 80.13 ± 13.41, 1.66 ± 0.18, and 26.98 ± 5.17 respectively for the males and 79.00 ± 16.14, 1.61 ± 0.12, and 26.89 ± 4.78 respectively for the females. The desirable BMI for both males and females are 18.5 to 24.9. Lipid profile result showed that the mean total cholesterol (TCH) was within desirable range of 188.13 ± 45.04 for the males and 196.42 ± 42.39 for the females and the mean high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was within low range of 44.87 ± 10.83 and 43.26±8.58 for the males and the females respectively. However, the mean low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was within the optimal range of 95.56 ± 38.86 and 114.37 ± 30.75 for males and females respectively. The mean triacylglycerols (TG) was within the borderline range of 173.63 ± 113.41 for the males and within normal range of 149.32 ± 100.28 for females. The total cholesterol/ high density lipoprotein ratio (TCHDL ratio) showed that the mean values for males and females were 4.64 ± 1.13 and 4.56 ± 2.02 respectively. The desirable range of TCHDL ratio for both males and females are 3.5 to 6.0. Correlation analysis showed positive correlations between BMI and LDL-C, Waist to hip ratio (WHR) and TAG, Waist circumference (WaistCir) and TAG. The implications of these findings as it relates nutrition and health are discussed

Understanding the DsJ+(2317)D^+_{sJ}(2317) and DsJ+(2460)D^+_{sJ}(2460) with Sum Rules in HQET

In the framework of heavy quark effective theory we use QCD sum rules to calculate the masses of the $\bar c s$ $(0^+, 1^+)$ and $(1^+, 2^+)$ excited states. The results are consistent with that the states $D_{sJ}(2317)$ and $D_{sJ}(2460)$ observed by BABAR and CLEO are the $0^+$ and $1^+$ states in the $j_l={1\over 2}^+$ doublet

No. 02: The State of Urban Food Insecurity in Southern Africa

The number of people living in urban areas is rising rapidly in Southern Africa. By mid-century, the region is expected to be 60% urban. Rapid urbanization is leading to growing food insecurity in the region’s towns and cities. This paper presents the results of the first ever regional study of the prevalence of food insecurity in Southern Africa. The AFSUN food security household survey was conducted simultaneously in 2008-9 in 11 cities in 8 SADC countries. The results confirm high levels of food insecurity amongst the urban poor in terms of food availability, accessibility, reliability and dietary diversity. The survey provides important insights into the causes of food insecurity and the kinds of households that are most vulnerable to food insecurity. It also shows the heavy reliance of the urban poor on informal food sources and the growing importance of supermarket chains

Screening Spin Lattice Interaction Using Deep Learning Approach

Atomic simulations hold significant value in clarifying crucial matters such as phase transitions and energy transport in materials science. Their success stems from the presence of potential energy functions capable of accurately depicting the relationship between system energy and lattice changes. In magnetic materials, two atomic scale degrees of freedom come into play: the lattice and the magnetic moment. Nonetheless, precisely portraying the interaction energy and its impact on lattice and spin-driving forces, such as atomic force and magnetic torque, remains a formidable task in the computational domain. Consequently, there is no atomic-scale approach capable of elucidating the evolution of lattice and spin at the same time in magnetic materials. Addressing this knowledge deficit, we present DeepSPIN, a versatile approach that generates high-precision predictive models of energy, atomic forces, and magnetic torque in magnetic systems. This is achieved by integrating first-principles calculations of magnetic excited states with advanced deep learning techniques via active learning. We thoroughly explore the methodology, accuracy, and scalability of our proposed model in this paper. Our technique adeptly connects first-principles computations and atomic-scale simulations of magnetic materials. This synergy presents opportunities to utilize these calculations in devising and tackling theoretical and practical obstacles concerning magnetic materials.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Semileptonic B decays into excited charmed mesons from QCD sum rules

Exclusive semileptonic $B$ decays into excited charmed mesons are studied with QCD sum rules in the leading order of heavy quark effective theory. Two universal Isgur-Wise functions \tau and \zeta for semileptonic B decays into four lowest lying excited $D$ mesons ($D_1$, $D_2^*$, $D'_0$, and $D'_1$) are determined. The decay rates and branching ratios for these processes are calculated.Comment: RevTeX, 17 pages including 2 figure

QCD Sum Rules for Masses of Excited Heavy Mesons

The masses of excited heavy mesons are studied with sum rules in the heavy quark effective theory. A set of interpolating currents creating (annihilating) excited heavy mesons with arbitrary spin and parity are proposed and their properties are discussed. Numerical results at the leading order of the {\cal O}(1/m_Q) expansion are obtained for the lowest doublets (0^+, 1^+) and (1^+, 2^+).Comment: LateX, 12 pages including 2 fig

Outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever among miners in Kamwenge and Ibanda Districts, Uganda, 2007

Marburg hemorrhagic fever was detected among 4 miners in Ibanda District, Uganda, from June through September, 2007. Infection was likely acquired through exposure to bats or bat secretions in a mine in Kamwenge District, Uganda, and possibly human-to-human transmission between some patients. We describe the epidemiologic investigation and the health education response

Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotope results from ODP Leg 187: Evidence for mantle dynamics of the Australian-Antarctic Discordance and origin of the Indian MORB source

New high precision PIMMS Hf and Pb isotope data for 14–28 Ma basalts recovered during ODP Leg 187 are compared with zero-age dredge samples from the Australian-Antarctic Discordance (AAD). These new data show that combined Nd-Hf isotope systematics can be used as an effective discriminant between Indian and Pacific MORB source mantle domains. In particular, Indian mantle is displaced to lower εNd and higher εHf ratios compared to Pacific mantle. As with Pb isotope plots, there is almost no overlap between the two mantle types in Nd-Hf isotope space. On the basis of our new Nd-Hf isotope data, we demonstrate that Pacific MORB-source mantle was present near the eastern margin of the AAD from as early as 28 Ma, its boundary with Indian MORB-source mantle coinciding with the eastern edge of a basin-wide arcuate depth anomaly that is centered on the AAD. This observation rules out models requiring rapid migration of Pacific MORB mantle into the Indian Ocean basin since separation of Australia from Antarctica. Although temporal variations in isotopic composition can be discerned relative to the fracture zone boundary of the modern AAD at 127°E, the distribution of different compositional groups appears to have remained much the same relative to the position of the residual depth anomaly for the past 30 m.y. Thus significant lateral flow of mantle along the ridge axis toward the interface appears unlikely. Instead, the dynamics that maintain both the residual depth anomaly and the isotopic boundary between Indian and Pacific mantle are due to eastward migration of the Australian and Antarctic plates over a stagnated, but slowly upwelling, slab oriented roughly orthogonal to the ridge axis. Temporal and spatial variations in the compositions of Indian MORB basalts within the AAD can be explained by progressive displacement of shallower Indian MORB-source mantle by deeper mantle having a higher εHf composition ascending ahead of the upwelling slab. Models for the origin of the distinctive composition of the Indian MORB-source based on recycling of a heterogeneous enriched component that consist of ancient altered ocean crust plus<10% pelagic sediment are inconsistent with Nd-Hf isotope systematics. Instead, the data can be explained by a model in which Indian mantle includes a significant proportion of material that was processed in the mantle wedge above a subduction zone and was subsequently mixed back into unprocessed upper mantle