"Little Islands": Challenges and Opportunities for Student Carers at the University of Westminster

Using the voice of those directly affected, this report explores the Higher Education (HE) experience of student carers (carers of ill relatives, student parents, as well as sibling carers) from application through to graduation and beyond. At present, there is limited quantitative and qualitative information about student carers held by the University of Westminster – this project aims to fill the qualitative gap. The project explored motivations to study, challenges, as well as opportunities presented by balancing caring responsibilities, work, and social life with HE study. Additionally, it reports on what student carers say would enhance their HE experience. The findings demonstrate the paramount importance of first identifying student carers, but how a perceived lack of empathy and trust in the institution, staff and other students can act as an obstacle to disclosure. Furthermore, how tailored support such as a Carers’ Passport and reasonable adjustments, the sensitive sharing of stories which heighten awareness of student carers, staff training and guidance, as well as the co-creation of resources and initiatives with student carers can aid trust building and enhance the HE experience

The mechanisms underpinning Cenozoic intraplate volcanism in eastern Australia: Insights from seismic tomography and geodynamic modeling

Cenozoic intraplate volcanism is widespread throughout much of eastern Australia and manifests as both age-progressive volcanic tracks and non-age-progressive lava fields. Various mechanisms have been invoked to explain the origin and distribution of the volcanism, but a broad consensus remains elusive. We use results from seismic tomography to demonstrate a clear link between lithospheric thickness and the occurrence, composition, and volume of volcanic outcrop. Furthermore, we find that non-age-progressive lava fields overlie significant cavities in the base of the lithosphere. Based on numerical simulations of mantle flow, we show that these cavities generate vigorous mantle upwellings, which likely promote decompression melting. However, due to the intermittent nature of the lava field volcanics over the last 50 Ma, it is probable that transient mechanisms also operate to induce or enhance melting. In the case of the Newer Volcanics Province, the passage of a nearby plume appears to be a likely candidate. Our results demonstrate why detailed 3-D variations in lithospheric thickness, plate motion, and transient sources of mantle heterogeneity need to be considered when studying the origin of non age-progressive volcanism in continental interiors

Inherited crustal deformation along the East Gondwana margin revealed by seismic anisotropy tomography

Acknowledgments We thank Mallory Young for providing phase velocity measurements in mainland Australia and Tasmania. Robert Musgrave is thanked for making available his tilt-filtered magnetic intensity map. In the short term, data may be made available by contacting the authors (S.P. or N.R.). A new database of passive seismic data recorded in Australia is planned as part of a national geophysics data facility for easy access download. Details on the status of this database may be obtained from the authors (S.P., N.R., or A.M.R.). There are no restrictions on access for noncommercial use. Commercial users should seek written permission from the authors (S.P. or N.R.). Ross Cayley publishes with the permission of the Director of the Geological Survey of Victoria.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Global epidemiology of nonpolio enteroviruses causing severe neurological complications: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Enteroviruses are RNA viruses found as commensals in the human gut and respiratory system, which may cause a wide spectrum of disease. Enteroviruses may cause severe neurologic complications including acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and encephalitis and are the most commonly diagnosed agents of viral meningitis. Outbreaks of more severe disease are often associated with particular genotypes, such as enterovirus-A71 causing rhombencephalitis and AFP. There are more than 300 described genotypes of human enterovirus, with overlaps in clinical phenotypes between genotypes, and uncertainty about which genotypes are more prevalent in neurological manifestations. A systematic review of observational studies was conducted to evaluate the most prevalent enterovirus genotypes causing AFP, encephalitis, and meningitis. The genotyping methods and sampling sites were compiled as secondary outcomes. Sources included MEDLINE, Embase (publications until January 2019), and references selected from included studies. Meta-analyses using a random effects model were performed to calculate the pooled proportion of enterovirus genotypes in each disease. Ninety-six publications met the eligibility criteria, comprising 3779 AFP cases, 1140 encephalitis cases, and 32 810 meningitis cases. Enterovirus-A71 was most frequently associated with AFP (pooled proportion 0.12, 95% CI, 0.05-0.20) and encephalitis (0.77, 95% CI, 0.61-0.91). Echovirus 30 (0.35, 95% CI, 0.27-0.42) was the most predominant genotype in meningitis cases. Genotypes were most commonly determined using VP1 RT- reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and most samples assessed were cerebrospinal fluid. With the emergence of enteroviruses as an increasing cause of neurological diseases, surveillance and testing need to increase to identify the aetiology of the most common and most severe disorders

Automatic differentiation in geophysical inverse problems

Automatic differentiation (AD) is the technique whereby output variables of a computer code evaluating any complicated function (e.g. the solution to a differential equation) can be differentiated with respect to the input variables. Often AD tools take the form of source to source translators and produce computer code without the need for deriving and hand coding of explicit mathematical formulae by the user. The power of AD lies in the fact that it combines the generality of finite difference techniques and the accuracy and efficiency of analytical derivatives, while at the same time eliminating 'human' coding errors. It also provides the possibility of accurate, efficient derivative calculation from complex 'forward' codes where no analytical derivatives are possible and finite difference techniques are too cumbersome. AD is already having a major impact in areas such as optimization, meteorology and oceanography. Similarly it has considerable potential for use in non-linear inverse problems in geophysics where linearization is desirable, or for sensitivity analysis of large numerical simulation codes, for example, wave propagation and geodynamic modelling. At present, however, AD tools appear to be little used in the geosciences. Here we report on experiments using a state of the art AD tool to perform source to source code translation in a range of geoscience problems. These include calculating derivatives for Gibbs free energy minimization, seismic receiver function inversion, and seismic ray tracing. Issues of accuracy and efficiency are discussed

Evidence of micro-continent entrainment during crustal accretion

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

P and S wave travel time tomography of the SE Asia-Australia collision zone

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. The southeast (SE)Asia - Australia collision zone is one of the most tectonically active and seismogenic regions in the world. Here, we present new 3-D P- and S-wave velocity models of the crust and upper mantle by applying regional earthquake travel-time tomography to global catalogue data. We first re-locate earthquakes provided by the standard ISC-Reviewed and ISC-EHB catalogues using a non-linear oct-tree scheme. A machine learning algorithm that clusters earthquakes depending on their spatiotemporal density was then applied to significantly improve the consistency of travel-time picks. We used the Fast Marching Tomography software package to retrieve 3-D velocity and interface structures from starting 1-D velocity and Moho models. Synthetic resolution and sensitivity tests demonstrate that the final models are robust, with P-wave speed variations (~130 km horizontal resolution)generally recovered more robustly than S-wave speed variations (~220 km horizontal resolution). The retrieved crust and mantle anomalies offer a new perspective on the broad-scale tectonic setting and underlying mantle architecture of SE Asia. While we observe clear evidence of subducted slabs as high velocity anomalies penetrating into the mantle along the Sunda arc, Banda arc and Halmahera arc, we also see evidence for slab gaps or holes in the vicinity of east Java. In the Banda arc, we image the slab as a single curved subduction zone. Furthermore, a high-velocity region in the mantle lithosphere connects northern Australia with Timor and West Papua. The S-wave model shows broad-scale features similar to those of the P-wave model, with mantle earthquakes generally distributed within high-velocity slabs. The high velocity mantle connection between northern Australia and the eastern margin of the Sunda arc is also present in the S-wave model. While the S-wave model has a lower resolution than the P-wave model due to the availability of fewer paths, it nonetheless provides new and complementary insights into the structure of the upper mantle beneath southeast Asia