University of Portsmouth

About: University of Portsmouth is a education organization based out in Portsmouth, Portsmouth, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Galaxy. The organization has 5452 authors who have published 14256 publications receiving 424346 citations. The organization is also known as: Portsmouth and Gosport School of Science and Art & Portsmouth and Gosport School of Science and the Arts.

The specialization continuum in pollination systems: diversity of concepts and implications for ecology, evolution and conservation

Abstract: 1. Specialization in plant-pollinator relationships is a core concept in discussions of plant evolution and ecology; it is central to our thinking, not just about the ecology of plant-pollinator interactions and pollinator services, but also about reproductive isolation, speciation, extinction, and assembly of communities. However, as reviewed here, the concept "plant-pollinator specialization" has multiple definitions and uses, and these disparate uses have engendered confusion in the literature. Organizing these disparate uses into a comprehensive framework is an overdue task, prior efforts notwithstanding. 2. This contribution attempts to make clear the variation in meaning and usage of plant-pollinator specialization, including distinguishing between ecological specialization (interacting with many partners or resources), evolutionary specialization (genetic change associated with increased specialization), and phenotypic specialization (having specialized or derived phenotypic traits), with application of all three concepts to both plants and flower-visiting animals. These variations in interpretation of specialization affect how we view evolutionary and biogeographical trends, as well as extinction risk. 3. In light of this conceptual diversity, I evaluate the relationships between specialization and possible trends in floral evolution and rates of speciation and extinction. I also address several implications of specialization for community ecology and resilience of pollination services in the face of environmental disturbance.

Bioadhesion at micro-patterned stimuli-responsive polymer brushes

Abstract: The synthesis of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) brushes within micropatterned domains at surfaces and the performance of these functionalised surfaces in short-term bioadhesion assays under varying conditions are described. The polymer brushes show temperature dependent behaviour at surfaces as demonstrated by changes in contact angle, surface energy components and aqueous phase AFM. The responses in the polymer brush domains result in spatially defined, and temperature mediated, attachment of a model protein, BSA, and the common oral bacteria Streptococcus mutans.

Social Control after Foucault.

Abstract: After the Foucauldian model, often misunderstood and projected without nuance onto the present, the study of social control has not progressed much. Meanwhile, changes on the ground call for the construction of a new theoretical paradigm which should take account of three contemporary tendencies: a) the embedding of control in the widespread and often consensual interaction between the user and the outlets and systems of institutional action; b) the emergence of an ‘unintended control’, that is not oriented towards values; and, c) the inherent contribution of sociotechnical systems, which at once regularise social behaviour and project onto their users a consciousness formed around invisible, yet ubiquitous, threats. The paper proposes to understand these tendencies as part of the contemporary transition towards institutional normativity and institutional sociality, two concepts that the author has developed in other works.

Gesture recognition based on binocular vision

Abstract: A convenient and effective binocular vision system is set up Gesture information can be accurately extract from the complex environment with the system The template calibration method is used to calibrate the binocular camera and the parameters of the camera are accurately obtained In the phase of stereo matching, the BM algorithm is used to quickly and accurately match the images of the left and right cameras to get the parallax of the measured gesture Combined with triangulation principle, resulting in a more dense depth map Finally, the depth information is remapped to the original color image to realize three-dimensional reconstruction and three-dimensional cloud image generation According to the cloud image information, it can be judged that the binocular vision system can effectively segment the gesture from the complex background