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.

Exploring the adoption of a service innovation: A study of Internet banking adopters and non-adopters

Abstract: Internet banking (IB) is the latest and most innovative service offered by the banks in Turkey. However, recent indicators regarding IB use in Turkey show that the majority of the Internet users have not adopted the service. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors affecting the process of IB adoption and to characterise different IB adopter and non-adopter segments in Turkey. The paper adopted a multi-method approach employing qualitative and quantitative types of research. The findings showed that IB adopters and non-adopters have different perceptual, experience related, socioeconomic and situational characteristics. It was further revealed that besides the perceptual factors related to IB use, perceptual factors in relation to the banks in Turkey were also influential in IB adoption process. The paper applied an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with Diffusion of Innovation Theory and Theory of Perceived Risk to characterise different IB adopter and non-adopter categories. The paper provided a methodological contribution to the adoption literature by applying the TAM to the context of the Turkish bank market and studying the issue in a multi-method research format.

Epiphytism and fouling in Gracilaria cultivation: an overview

Abstract: Epiphytism is a major, world-wide problem in Gracilaria cultivation, severely reducing the productivity and cost efficiency of a diverse range of open-water and on-shore farms; the problem is especially acute in tank cultivation systems. The present paper provides an overview of the literature on epiphytism and fouling in the Gracilaria mariculture industry. Topics considered include the identity of the main epiphytes and fouling organisms, aspects of their ecology and biology which contribute towards their success as contaminants, the detrimental effects which epiphytes exert on the host plants, and the range of physical, chemical and biological control methods currently available. Recent changes in approach, with less descriptive information and more emphasis on experimental studies of Gracilaria-epiphyte interactions, are welcomed, as these offer hope for the development of improved control measures.

Solving the Martian meteorite age conundrum using micro-baddeleyite and launch-generated zircon

Abstract: The age of the representative Martian meteorite NWA 5298 is determined using spatially correlated electron-beam nanostructural and uranium–lead isotopic measurements of microminerals, resolving a paradox of different age interpretations for the evolution of Martian crust. A few of the many meteorites that fall to Earth are of Martian origin. The true age of these rare samples of the Martian surface has been the subject of a decades-long debate, with interpreted ages differing by up to 4 billion years. Desmond Moser and colleagues resolve this problem using a new approach to dating meteorite launch events through nanoscale investigation of crystal growth zoning and structures. Their analysis of the resistant micromineral baddeleyite and host igneous minerals in the highly shocked Martian meteorite Northwest Africa 5298 reveals it as a crystallization product of Martian volcanism of the past 400 million years. Previous estimates of a 4-billion-year age of formation have actually dated a remnant signature of the ancient mantle melting event from which the magma was derived. These findings confirm the presence of an ancient, non-convecting mantle beneath a relatively young volcanic Martian crust. Invaluable records of planetary dynamics and evolution can be recovered from the geochemical systematics of single meteorites1. However, the interpreted ages of the ejected igneous crust of Mars differ by up to four billion years1,2,3,4,5,6, a conundrum7 due in part to the difficulty of using geochemistry alone to distinguish between the ages of formation and the ages of the impact events that launched debris towards Earth. Here we solve the conundrum by combining in situ electron-beam nanostructural analyses and U–Pb (uranium–lead) isotopic measurements of the resistant micromineral baddeleyite (ZrO2) and host igneous minerals in the highly shock-metamorphosed shergottite Northwest Africa 5298 (ref. 8), which is a basaltic Martian meteorite. We establish that the micro-baddeleyite grains pre-date the launch event because they are shocked, cogenetic with host igneous minerals, and preserve primary igneous growth zoning. The grains least affected by shock disturbance, and which are rich in radiogenic Pb, date the basalt crystallization near the Martian surface to 187 ± 33 million years before present. Primitive, non-radiogenic Pb isotope compositions of the host minerals, common to most shergottites1,2,3,4, do not help us to date the meteorite, instead indicating a magma source region that was fractionated more than four billion years ago9,10,11,12 to form a persistent reservoir so far unique to Mars1,9. Local impact melting during ejection from Mars less than 22 ± 2 million years ago caused the growth of unshocked, launch-generated zircon and the partial disturbance of baddeleyite dates. We can thus confirm the presence of ancient, non-convecting mantle beneath young volcanic Mars, place an upper bound on the interplanetary travel time of the ejected Martian crust, and validate a new approach to the geochronology of the inner Solar System.

The effect of breast support on the kinematics of the breast during the running gait cycle

Abstract: Although breast pain has been related to vertical breast displacement and velocity, the influence of breast support on multi-planar breast kinematics and breast comfort has yet to be ascertained. The aims of this study were to investigate multi-planar breast displacement, velocity, and acceleration with and without breast support during running and to establish the correlation with breast comfort. Fifteen females ran at 2.8 m x s(-1) in no bra, an everyday bra, and a sports bra. Three-dimensional coordinates of breast and body markers were tracked during ten gait cycles and following each trial the participants rated their breast comfort. Relative breast displacement was calculated and derived for velocity and acceleration. Vertical breast displacement, velocity, and acceleration peaked at, before, and after mid-stance, respectively. The patterns of displacement and velocity trajectories were unaffected by increasing breast support, though the magnitudes were significantly reduced. The magnitude and trajectory of breast acceleration was unaffected by increasing breast support and showed no correlation with comfort. Breast velocity displayed the strongest relationship to comfort (r = 0.61). Considerable mediolateral and anteroposterior breast kinematics were identified, suggesting that future studies and bra design may benefit from three-dimensional analysis. In conclusion, improvements in breast support may be defined by reductions in breast velocity and displacement.