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Past and ongoing research in the design, development, and implementation of fully autonomous and unmanned ships has revealed operational, environmental, and financial benefits for the maritime industry. However, with the benefits of being highly intuitive and intelligent systems, there are risks of mistakes and failures caused by their operators i.e. the unavoidable human element. With predictions of both seafarers and non-seafarers to be involved in the critical operations of autonomous vessels, it was imperative to identify key maritime stakeholders and conduct research which would investigate their beliefs and perceptions on the training requirements of the future shore-based operators. The key maritime stakeholders were 37 participants who were a mix of seafarers, maritime regulators, maritime education and training providers, and persons involved in other facets of the maritime business. The qualitative research involving in-depth interviews with the participants provided key insights which helped in identifying essential skills and competencies towards building a recommendatory framework which can be used as a basis to reform the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code in order to make seafarers future ready.

Structural direction of hydrogen-bonded thienylenevinylenes reveals that self-assembled to 1D structures exhibit enhanced photoconductivity and charge carrier mobility when compared to 2D sheets.

The dream to prepare well-defined materials drives the methodological evolution for molecular synthesis, structural control and materials manufacturing. Among various methods, chemical approaches to design, synthesize, control and engineer small molecules, polymers and networks offer the fundamental strategies. Merging covalent bonds and non-covalent interactions into one method to establish a complex structural composition for specific functions, mimicking biological systems such as DNA, RNA and proteins, is at the centre of chemistry and materials science. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a class of crystalline porous polymers that enable the integration of organic units into highly ordered structures via polymerization. This polymerization system is unique as it deploys covalent bonds to construct the primary order structures of polymeric backbones via polycondensation and leverages on non-covalent interactions to create the high order structures of polymeric networks via supramolecular polymerization in a one-pot reaction system. This Primer covers all aspects of the field of COFs from chemistry to physics, materials and applications, and outlines the design principle, experimental methods, characterization and applications, with an aim to show a concise yet full picture of the field. The key fundamental issues to be addressed are analysed with an outlook on the future major directions from different perspectives.

The use of biocontrol agents with plant growth-promoting activity has emerged as an approach to support sustainable agriculture. During our field evaluation of potato plants treated with biocontrol rhizobacteria, four bacteria were associated with increased plant height. Using two important solanaceous crop plants, tomato and potato, we carried out a comparative analysis of the growth-promoting activity of the four bacterial strains:Pseudomonas fluorescensSLU99,Serratia plymuthicaS412,S. rubidaeaAV10, andS. rubidaeaEV23. Greenhouse andin vitroexperiments showed thatP. fluorescensSLU99 promoted plant height, biomass accumulation, and yield of potato and tomato plants, while EV23 promoted growth in potato but not in tomato plants. SLU99 induced the expression of plant hormone-related genes in potato and tomato, especially those involved in maintaining homeostasis of auxin, cytokinin, gibberellic acid and ethylene. Our results reveal potential mechanisms underlying the growth promotion and biocontrol effects of these rhizobacteria and suggest which strains may be best deployed for sustainably improving crop yield.

Mimicking the interconvertible carbon allotropes of 2-dimensional (2D) graphene and 1-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotubes, herein we report the in-situ transformation of 2D conjugated covalent organic frameworks (COFs) sheet into 1D nanotubular structures via self-assembly the sheets at solvent interfaces. The facile “roll-the sheets” self-assembly resulted in coaxial nanotubes with uniform cross-sectional diameter, which was realized for aza-pyrene based COF instead of pyrene COF, although both possess very similar chemical structure. Upon replacing the carbon atoms at 2,7-positions of pyrene with nitrogen, contrasting optical and electronic properties was realized reflecting the rolled structure of the conjugated 2D sheets. The nanotubes exhibited semiconducting nature with stable conducting pathways at ambient conditions. The aza centers act as the point for charge carrier doping as evident from the photoconductivity and electrical conductivity results.

BACKGROUND An important part of human placental development is the extensive modification of maternal vasculature by trophoblasts. Fetal growth retardation (FGR) and preeclampsia (PE) are associated with deficient trophoblastic invasion and modification of the uterine spiral arteries leading to small-caliber vessels of high resistance which impairs placental blood flow, creating a hypoxic environment and subsequent oxidative stress. FGR and pre-eclampsia are important causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality and it is important to identify such ‘at risk’ pregnancies during routine antenatal care. Ultrasonography (USG) and colour-Doppler are readily available tools that may be used for identifying such ‘at risk’ pregnancies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of 2-D sonographic placental volumetry, umbilical arterial doppler and uterine arterial doppler in predicting adverse fetomaternal outcomes and compare the accuracy of these three tests with each other in terms of sensitivity and specificity. METHODS A total of 100 women were randomly selected from the antenatal clinics, and were subject to serial ultrasounds at 12 - 16 weeks, 20 - 24 weeks, and 28 - 32 weeks. The 2-D sonographic placental volume, umbilical and uterine arterial resistivity index (RI), and pulsatility index (PI) were measured. The pregnancies were followed up till delivery and the measurements were plotted against the actual placental weight and development of FGR and/or pre-eclampsia. RESULTS In pregnancies with FGR or pre-eclampsia, the placental volumes were low, and correspondingly the uterine and umbilical arterial RI and PI were high (increased impedance) as compared to the normal pregnancies. For the prediction of adverse outcomes, a receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis showed that placental volume and umbilical artery RI and PI had high sensitivity in the 1st-trimester, and high specificity in the 2nd-trimester. CONCLUSIONS 2-D sonographic placental volumetry and umbilical arterial Doppler studies may be used as 1st-trimester screening tools to predict adverse fetomaternal outcomes. These patients may be subjected to more intensive follow-up to minimize maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. KEYWORDS Doppler Ultrasonography; Fetal Growth Retardation; Placenta; Pre-eclampsia; Umbilical Arteries; Uterine Artery

In principle, polymerization tends to produce amorphous or poorly crystalline materials. Efficiently producing high-quality single crystals by polymerization in solvent remains as an unsolved issue in chemistry, especially for covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with highly complex structures. To produce μm-sized single crystals, the growth time is prolonged to >15 days, far away from the requirements in practical applications. Here, we find supercritical CO2 (sc-CO2) accelerates single-crystal polymerization by 10,000,000 folds, and produces two-dimensional (2D) COF single crystals with size up to 0.2 mm within 2~5 min. Although it is the fastest single-crystal polymerization, the growth in sc-CO2 leads to not only the largest crystal size of 2D COFs, but also higher quality with improved photoconductivity performance. This work overcomes traditional concept on low efficiency of single-crystal polymerization, and holds great promise for future applications owing to its efficiency, industrial compatibility, environmental friendliness and universality for different crystalline structures and linkage bonds., Rapid growth of highly crystalline Covalent organic framework (COF) materials remains challenging. Here, the authors accelerate single-crystal polymerization using supercritical CO2 and realize the fabrication of two-dimensional COF single crystals within several minutes.

Autonomous ships are expected to become operational in the foreseeable future. However, so far, most of the discussions have been centred on automation technology with less emphasis on training of seafarers who shall operate them. Depending on the level of autonomy, it is imperative that these ships will still be operated by humans either onshore or onboard. Thus, it is critical to identify the training needs of operators and the facilities that will be required to deliver them. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge on maritime education and training (MET) of future operators of autonomous and unmanned ships. An extensive review of the literature revealed that currently, there is an absence of a framework for training the future operators of autonomous vessels. Moreover, the exact equipment that will be needed for training is also not known. As the literature on operational requirement of autonomous ships is limited, this paper expanded the review of the literature to industries which have already embraced the autonomous systems and in particular the framework utilised for training the workforce that operates and manage those autonomous systems.

To provide an international standard for the safe management and operation of ships and for pollution prevention, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) introduced the International Safety Management (ISM) Code (adopted in 1993 and entered in force on 1st July 1998). The Code, through its guidelines and recommendations, provides seafarers (ship’s crew) the course of action for the safety and quality assurance process on ships. Traditionally a paper-based system, the ISM Code is now being digitalized in every aspect to streamline the processes to improve ship operations. This paper presents findings of a review of existing literature available on the world wide web to highlight areas of the Code that have been impacted by technology and the benefits that are being reaped. However, recent cyber attacks on ships and the maritime industry require a discussion on various implications associated with ships becoming increasingly reliant on technology and the advancing digital world. This paper highlights and explains the related implications and suggests strategies to address them.

A dedicated soil testing method for estimating available nitrogen (N) in organic production system is currently lacking. In this backdrop, an innovative approach was initiated to develop a suitable method for assessing potentially mineralisable nitrogen (PMN) as N availability index in organically fertilised soils. To address the objective, a field experiment was conducted in an organically fertilised french bean crop after a 3-year crop cycle of aromatic rice-french bean-okra. Farmyard manure, vermicompost, mustard oil-cake, poultry manure and their different combinations equivalent to 120 kg N ha−1 were applied as sources of N. Chemically fertilised plots were also maintained as a check. PMN was derived using first-order kinetics, from the disappearance of organic-N at different growth stages of french bean using the methods involving 1/15 M phosphate buffer (PB), 0.01 M calcium chloride (CaCl2), 0.01 M sodium bi-carbonate (NaHCO3), and 0.1 M sodium hydroxide + 0.05 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Basic EDTA) extractants. The conventional alkaline permanganate method for N estimation was also used for comparison. PB derived significantly 22, 39 and 47% higher PMN than Basic EDTA, NaHCO3 and CaCl2 respectively. PMNs estimated by different methods were well correlated (r = 0.53** to 0.84**) among themselves while exhibited poor correlation with alkaline permanganate N (r = 0.30 to 0.41*). PB-derived PMN depicted the strongest linear relationship with pod yield (r = 0.89**, R2 = 0.80**) and N uptake (r = 0.81**, R2 = 0.66**). The reliability of PB as the most suitable method was further established by principal component analysis as PB explained the highest proportion (73%) of total PMN variation. Beyond its consequential quantitative evaluation, the ability of PB to extract organic-N compounds of similar chemical nature (uniform C:N ratio, 12–14) from diverse organic sources confirmed its superiority. Adopting PB to estimate PMN as an index of N availability will thus assist soil testing agencies to improve nutrient management advisory for organic farmers.

The objective of this research was to investigate the factors of assessment that students undergoing authentic assessment perceived to be significant regarding their academic achievement. This project advanced past research by the authors which found that the academic achievement of seafarer students was significantly higher in a formatively implemented authentic assessment compared with a summative traditional assessment. The academic achievement (assessment scores) was based on the students’ performance in analysing information presented in a real-world context (authentic assessment) as opposed to the analysis of information presented devoid of a real-world context (traditional assessment). Using the data obtained from students undergoing the authentic assessment, this project correlated their perceptions of authenticity for factors of assessment to their scores in the associated task. Stage 1 focused on deriving the factors conceptually from the definition of the authentic assessment by the authors, based on which a perception survey questionnaire was designed. Stage 2 extracted new factors through a factor analysis conducted using the software SPSS. Both stages of investigation found that the factor of transparency of criteria was a significant predictor of the students’ academic achievement.

Donor–acceptor dyads consisting of perylene bisimide (PBI) and trialkoxyphenyl–oligothiophene (TAPOT) units are reported that self-assemble into helical four-, six-, and seven-stranded hydrogen-bon...

Rubrics are assessment tools without which students have no guidelines towards their achievement or to understand the teacher's feedback. Although, traditionally designed by educators, students have been engaged to co-construct rubrics with their teachers. The authors of this paper set out to investigate the difference in the academic achievement (measured using assessment scores) when students are excluded versus included in rubric design. This paper presents the first phase of investigation when the students were excluded from rubric design intended to be used for the authentic assessment of their competence in the use of leadership skills. The authentic assessment was implemented as a formative assessment in the form of two separate and distinct assessments. The students were provided feedback on their performance in the first task using the rubrics constructed by the educators. The assessment scores revealed a significant number of students used the feedback to improve their academic achievement. Future research will present findings from the second phase of investigation when the students will co-create the rubrics and its impact on their academic achievement will be studied.

Authentic assessment tasks test the students’ knowledge to apply knowledge and skills acquired in classrooms to scenarios resembling real-world contexts. However, the fidelity of context cannot alone assure that essential aspects and constructs of professional competencies are being accurately assessed. Testing assessment tasks for content validity assures the extent to which the assessment instrument provides a representative sample of the content domain in the area of interest. This paper presents the findings from subjecting an authentic assessment instrument (case study designed to assess seafarer students’ leadership and managerial skills) through the process of its content validity testing using a validation survey. Twelve subject matter experts responded to the validation survey after reviewing the case study to indicate the extent to which they found the representation of the skills to be assessed. The findings highlight the challenges and implications (lack of training of maritime educators in the area of validity testing, authentic assessment implementation, and case study writing) in achieving the content validity of an authentic assessment. The challenges and implications, if addressed, will improve the overall validity of assessment and the resulting learning outcomes.

This paper presents the results of a research study conducted aiming to educate maritime design students with maritime Human Factors (HF) and Human-Centred Design (HCD) theoretical concepts and to ...

Past research shows seafarer students perceive traditional assessment methods used in maritime education and training (MET) institutes as disengaging, making them adopt surface-learning approaches towards acquiring essential knowledge and skills required for the workplace. Instead of developing skills that may be transferred to shipboard tasks, disengaged seafarer students focus only on achieving the minimum score required to attain a ‘pass’ grade for their certification. In this paper, a quantitative research methodology is developed to investigate seafarer students’ perception of authenticity to workplace tasks in decontextualised traditional assessments versus authentic assessments conducted in real world contexts. The methodology will further correlate the perceptions to student achievement (measured using assessment scores) in the assessment tasks. The paper describes the research design and identifies the ethical issues. Procedures to address validity and reliability of the research are also established. Future research aims to implement the methodology to conduct research in a selected educational institute and a unit of competence. However, this paper acknowledges that the methodology should be replicated in other educational institutes for different units of competence to compare and generalise findings.

We present here medium resolution (\lambda /\Delta\lambda\sim1200) H- and K-band spectra of M type dwarf stars covering the wavelength range 1.50 - 1.80 {\mu}m and 1.95 - 2.45 {\mu}m. The sample includes 53 dwarf stars (M0V-M7V) from new observations using the TIFR Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Imager (TIRSPEC) instrument on the 2-m Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT). Using interferometrically-measured effective temperature (T_{eff}), radius and luminosity of nearby bright calibrator stars, we have created new empirical relationships among those fundamental parameters and spectral indices. The equivalent widths of H-band spectral features like Mg (1.57 {\mu}m), Al (1.67 {\mu}m) and Mg (1.71 {\mu}m), and the H_{2}O-H index are found to be good indicators of T_{eff}, radius and luminosity and we establish the linear functions using these features relating to those stellar parameters. The root mean squared error (RMSE) of our best fits are 102K, 0.027R_{\sun} and 0.12dex respectively. Using spectral type standards along with known parallaxes, we calibrate both H and K-band H_{2}O indices as a tracer of spectral type and absolute K_{s} magnitude. Metallicities of M-dwarf samples are estimated using the K-band calibration relationships. The mass of M-dwarfs could be determined using the luminosity (L/L_{\sun}) and we establish a new empirical relation for this. We also compare and contrast our results with other similar work from the literature., Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures, accepted on February 08, 2020 for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS)

Past research showed that traditional assessment methods that required seafarer students to construct responses based on memorisation and analysing information presented in absence of real-world contexts (e.g. oral examinations and multiple-choice questions) disengaged the students from learning. Memorising information is a lower-order cognitive ability, failure in which led to errors and low academic achievement for students. Authentic assessment methods require students to construct responses through the critical analysis of information presented in real-world contexts. Hence, this research investigated the difference in seafarer students' academic achievement (measured through scores obtained in assessment) in authentic assessment as compared with traditional assessment. Two separate and independent student groups (the ‘control’ group and ‘treatment’ group) were used for a selected unit of learning delivered at the Australian Maritime College within the Bachelor of Nautical Science degree program. Because some past researchers had defined and implemented traditional assessment methods as a single-occasion assessment, this project implemented the assessment in a summative format, as opposed to authentic assessments implemented during student preparation. Analysis of student scores revealed that the authentically assessed students were guided towards significantly higher academic achievement.

Key global and Australasian bodies have reported research suggesting the accounting profession is one of the most vulnerable to disruption through automation and changed business models. For universities seeking to improve the employability of graduates and professional bodies seeking to support professional members on a successful lifelong career, the research presented in this paper reconfirmed the need to reappraise the capabilities that would enhance professional practice and lead to sustained careers. This report presents the findings from a validation process across Australia and New Zealand that includes 2,074 responses to a survey conducted by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. The report confirms 24 capabilities, including six considered essential requirements for every professional seeking to work in accounting, finance, and related work roles. The findings provide evidence that these capabilities, in contrast to recent reports suggesting employment opportunities for accounting graduates are in decline, can create opportunities for sustainable careers. The validation project and survey results provide unexpected insight into the capabilities of different age groups and professionals at different career stages that are considered important. The paper outlines how this research will not only inform continuing professional education for members but also help refine the design of post-graduate curriculum and continuing professional development.

Efficient fluorophores with easy synthetic routes and fast responses are of great importance in clinical diagnostics. Herein, we report a new, rigid pentacyclic pyrylium fluorophore, PS-OMe, synthesised in a single step by a modified Vilsmeier–Haack reaction. Insights into the reaction mechanism facilitated a new reaction protocol for the efficient synthesis of PS-OMe which upon demethylation resulted in a “turn-on” pH sensor, PS-OH. This new fluorescent probe has been successfully used to monitor intracellular acidification at physiological pH. From the fluorescence image analysis, we were able to quantify the intracellular dynamic pH change during apoptosis. This new pH probe is a potential chemical tool for screening, drug discovery and dose determination in cancer therapy., A modified Vilsmeier–Haack reaction resulted in the synthesis of a pyrylium based turn-on fluorescent pH probe. The probe can monitor minute acidification and dynamic pH variation in cells during apoptosis with therapeutic chemo drugs.

Phytophthora ramorum is a destructive pathogen that causes sudden oak death disease. The genome sequence of P. ramorum isolate Pr102 was previously produced, using Sanger reads, and contained 12 Mb of gaps. However, isolate Pr102 had shown reduced aggressiveness and genome abnormalities. In order to produce an improved genome assembly for P. ramorum, we performed long-read sequencing of highly aggressive P. ramorum isolate CDFA1418886 (abbreviated as ND886). We generated a 60.5-Mb assembly of the ND886 genome using the Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) sequencing platform. The assembly includes 302 primary contigs (60.2 Mb) and nine unplaced contigs (265 kb). Additionally, we found a ‘highly repetitive’ component from the PacBio unassembled unmapped reads containing tandem repeats that are not part of the 60.5-Mb genome. The overall repeat content in the primary assembly was much higher than the Pr102 Sanger version (48 versus 29%), indicating that the long reads have captured repetitive regions effectively. The 302 primary contigs were phased into 345 haplotype blocks and 222,892 phased variants, of which the longest phased block was 1,513,201 bp with 7,265 phased variants. The improved phased assembly facilitated identification of 21 and 25 Crinkler effectors and 393 and 394 RXLR effector genes from two haplotypes. Of these, 24 and 25 RXLR effectors were newly predicted from haplotypes A and B, respectively. In addition, seven new paralogs of effector Avh207 were found in contig 54, not reported earlier. Comparison of the ND886 assembly with Pr102 V1 assembly suggests that several repeat-rich smaller scaffolds within the Pr102 V1 assembly were possibly misassembled; these regions are fully encompassed now in ND886 contigs. Our analysis further reveals that Pr102 is a heterokaryon with multiple nuclear types in the sequences corresponding to contig 10 of ND886 assembly.

Past analysis of marine accident investigations has revealed that inadequate risk assessment conducted on board ships lead to maritime accidents. The International Management Code for the Safe Oper...

Soluble all-trans polyacetylenes (PAs) are most ideal models to study the spectroscopic properties of conjugated polymers for precise control of their backbone configurations, resulting in semiconducting properties for optoelectronic applications. Herein, we report precise control of the backbone configuration and subsequent self-assembly of soluble PAs flanked with alkyl–fluoroalkyl side chains, using light and temperature stimuli respectively in solution. PAs with symmetric alkyl and unsymmetrical alkyl–fluoroalkyl side chains were successfully polymerized by living cyclopolymerization with the olefin metathesis reaction mediated by third-generation Grubbs catalysts. Coil-to-rod-like conformational transition was observed for all of the PAs under ambient light due to photoisomerization, monitored by UV–vis spectroscopy and discussed in terms of the Huang–Rhys parameter. Enrichment of the trans configuration in the conjugated backbones opened up the possibility of aggregation between the isolated conjuga...

We test the Grumiller's quantum motivated modified gravity model, which at large distances modifies the Newtonian potential and describes the galactic rotation curves of disk galaxies in terms of a Rindler acceleration term without the need of any dark matter, against the baryonic Tully-Fisher feature that relates the total baryonic mass of a galaxy with flat rotation velocity of the galaxy. We estimate the Rindler acceleration parameter from observed baryonic mass versus rotation velocity data of a sample of sixty galaxies. Grumiller's model is found to describe the observed data reasonably well., 4 pages, two figures, To appear in Gravitation and Cosmology

Charge carrier mobility is an important figure of merit to evaluate organic semiconductor (OSC) materials. In aggregated OSCs, this quantity is determined by inter-chromophoric electronic and vibrational coupling. These key parameters sensitively depend on structural properties, including the density of defects. We have employed a new type of crystalline assembly strategy to engineer the arrangement of the OSC pentacene in a structure not realized as crystals to date. Our approach is based on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), in which suitably substituted pentacenes act as ditopic linkers and assemble into highly ordered π-stacks with long-range order. Layer-by-layer fabrication of the MOF yields arrays of electronically coupled pentacene chains, running parallel to the substrate surface. Detailed photophysical studies reveal strong, anisotropic inter-pentacene electronic coupling, leading to efficient charge delocalization. Despite a high degree of structural order and pronounced dispersion of the 1D-bands for the static arrangement, our experimental results demonstrate hopping-like charge transport with an activation energy of 64 meV dominating the band transport over a wide range of temperatures. A thorough combined quantum mechanical and molecular dynamics investigation identifies frustrated localized rotations of the pentacene cores as the reason for the breakdown of band transport and paves the way for a crystal engineering strategy of molecular OSCs that independently varies the arrangement of the molecular cores and their vibrational degrees of freedom., Pentacene assembled into 1D arrays using a metal–organic framework (MOF) approach. This cofacial packing motif, which is not present in pentacene bulk, shows an interesting interplay of band-like and hopping-type transport.

We present here optical I-band photometric variability study down to $\simeq$ 19 mag of a young ($\sim$2-3 Myr) star-forming region IC 348 in the Perseus molecular cloud. We aim to explore the fast rotation (in the time-scales of hours) in Very Low Mass stars (VLMs) including Brown Dwarfs (BDs). From a sample of 177 light-curves using our new I-band observations, we detect new photometric variability in 22 young M-dwarfs including 6 BDs, which are bonafide members in IC 348 and well-characterized in the spectral type of M-dwarfs. Out of 22 variables, 11 M dwarfs including one BD show hour-scale periodic variability in the period range 3.5 - 11 hours and rest are aperiodic in nature. Interestingly, an optical flare is detected in a young M2.75 dwarf in one night data on 20 December 2016. From the flare light curve, we estimate the emitted flared energy of 1.48 $\times$ 10$^{35}$ ergs. The observed flared energy with an uncertainty of tens of per cent is close to the super-flare range ($\sim$ 10$^{34}$ ergs), which is rarely observed in active M dwarfs., 12 pages, 5 figures