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Background The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) handbook is an integrated home-based record (HBR) designed to record in a single document all the information regarding health services provided to a pregnant woman and her child. The MCH handbook has the potential to support continuity of care which is key to strengthening maternal, newborn and child health. However, there is a lack of an integrated system to manage the health of pregnant women and young children on an ongoing basis in Angola. Thus, the Angolan Ministry of Health is partnering with the Japan International Cooperation Agency to build the capacity of healthcare providers through trainings and implementation of the MCH handbook to improve service utilisation. In this study, we will estimate the impact of an intervention package including distribution of MCH handbook and its supplementary interventions to women, on the utilisation of services provided at healthcare facilities from pregnancy through the postnatal and early childhood period. Methods This study is a cluster randomised controlled trial involving public healthcare facilities across all the municipalities located in Benguela Province, Angola. All women who go to participating healthcare facilities and with confirmed pregnancy around the beginning of the trial period will be included in the study. Women will be randomised according to the municipality where their primary maternity and/or childcare services are located. The intervention package will consist of MCH handbook distribution at all public healthcare facilities, MCH handbook utilisation training for healthcare providers and community mobilisation for women on the use of the MCH handbook. The intervention will be administered to all women in the intervention arm while those in the control arm will continue the traditional use of two stand-alone HBRs. The primary outcome measure for this study is to compare the proportion of women who achieve a complete continuum of care in both study arms. Discussion The findings from the study are expected to form a basis for revising the current trial version of the Angola MCH handbook and provide a framework for policy guiding nationwide scale-up and distribution of the MCH handbook. Trial registration ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN20510127 . Registered on 4 June 2019

In textile manufacturing, ensuring high-quality yarn is crucial, as it directly influences the overall quality of the end product. However, imperfections like protruding and loop fibers, known as ‘hairiness’, can significantly impact yarn quality, leading to defects in the final fabrics. Controlling yarn quality in the spinning process is essential, but current commercial equipment is expensive and limited to analyzing only a few parameters. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) offers a promising solution to this challenge. By utilizing deep learning algorithms, a model can detect various yarn irregularities, including thick places, thin places, and neps, while characterizing hairiness by distinguishing between loop and protruding fibers in digital yarn images. This paper proposes a novel approach using deep learning, specifically, an enhanced algorithm based on YOLOv5s6, to characterize different types of yarn hairiness. Key performance indicators include precision, recall, F1-score, mAP0.5:0.95, and mAP0.5. The experimental results show significant improvements, with the proposed algorithm increasing model mAP0.5 by 5% to 6% and mAP0.5:0.95 by 11% to 12% compared to the standard YOLOv5s6 model. A 10k-fold cross-validation method is applied, providing an accurate estimate of the performance on unseen data and facilitating unbiased comparisons with other approaches.

This paper presents MPS1 (Mass Parameterization System), an automatic system for determination of mass characteristics of textile yarn. It is based on 1 mm parallel capacitive sensors, working online or offline. This new approach allows direct measurement of yarn mass in the 1 mm range (increasing the resolution by eight times) [Pinto, J. G., Dissertação de Mestrado, Minho University, 2004; Baxter, L. Capacitive sensors: design and applications, IEEE Press, 1997]. Acquisition and data processing are performed in Labview™ from National Instruments. All parameters commonly used in the textile industry are determined for different values of sensitivity defined interactively by the operator. In MPS1, the new parameters were used (integral of deviation rate [IDR%], signal processing techniques based on the fast Walsh-Hadamard Transform and on fast impulse frequency determination [FDFI]) and others adapted (deviation rate [DR%], spectograms, frequency and mass variation diagrams, coefficient of variation [CV%], mean deviation [U%], faults counting and extension). Anew feature of this system is also the online automatic quality classification of mass parameters.

This paper briefly describes a novel patented laboratory equipment, which was studied, designed, and manufactured at the University of Minho, Portugal, based on a new method of accessing friction coefficient of fabrics and other two-dimensional non-rigid surfaces, as well as its fundamentals and working principle. An experimental study was carried out in order to compare fabrics produced with a new generation of fibers, namely polylatic acid (PLA) fiber and soya protein fiber (SPF). A 5- satin structure weave was used in the double-faced fabrics' construction in both sides, allowing us to test the influence of each fiber in the friction properties. The results of the experimental work were analyzed using various tools, including SPSS 15.0® statistical package and commented in the light of the influence of the raw material in the friction properties of the fabrics. The soft felling of the SPF was confirmed as expected, as well as the roughness of the PLA fiber.

This paper focuses on the determination of the statistical correlation between yarn diameter and yarn linear mass. The experimental methods employed are based on optical analysis and on image processing techniques applied to electron microscope images. Several different cotton yarns were examined over a wide range of yarn linear masses. The results indicate that diameters predicted by the relationship commonly quoted in the literature can be as much as 62% smaller than those experimentally observed.

Background: Dropout in higher education is a concern for students, families, educational institutions, and society. Tertiary education is an important mechanism for empowering people and STEM courses are vital to countries' development. Method: The study combined quantitative and qualitative data. Step 1 was an analysis of personal and contextual variables in a comprehensive examination of dropout in a sample of 1,016 engineering students. In step 2 a short interview by telephone were conducted with 82 students who dropped out, identifying their reasons and their academic/professional situation. In step 3 in-depth interviews were conducted with six students in order to understand the dynamic process of their decisions to leave. Results: The academic/professional situations of students who dropped out were quite varied, for example the same course or a different course at another institution, starting a job, not working or studying, or attending another level of professional training. There were three main reasons for dropping: vocational, learning process and achievement, and reconciling roles. Conclusions: Engineering student dropout is related to vocational and academic achievement. This should be considered in the implementation of programs to reduce the rate of dropout. Keywords: Higher education; engineering students; academic dropout; first-year students; academic trajectories. Abandono Universitario en Ingenieria: Motivos y Trayectorias de los Estudiantes. Antecedentes: la desercion en la educacion superior es una preocupacion para los estudiantes, las familias, las instituciones educativas y la sociedad. La educacion terciaria es un mecanismo importante para el empoderamiento de las personas, y los cursos STEM son vitales para el desarrollo de los paises. Metodo: estudio que combina datos cuantitativos y cualitativos. En el paso 1 analizamos variables personales y contextuales y la desercion de 1.016 estudiantes de ingenieria. En el paso 2 se realizd una breve entrevista telefonica a 82 estudiantes que desertaron, identificando sus motivos y situacion academica/profesional. En el paso 3 se realizaron entrevistas en profundidad a seis estudiantes para comprender el proceso dinamico de decision de abandonar. Resultados: la situacion academica/profesional de los estudiantes que desertaron es bastante diferente, por ejemplo cursar la misma o otra carrera en otra institucion, empezar trabajando, no trabajar ni estudiar y cursar otro nivel de formacion profesional. Los estudiantes informaron tres razones principales para la desercion: vocacional, proceso de aprendizaje y logro, y reconciliacion de roles. Conclusiones: la desercion de los estudiantes de ingenieria esta relacionada con el rendimiento academico y vocacional. Esto debe tenerse en cuenta en la implementacion de programas para reducir la desercion. Palabras clave: educacion superior; estudiantes de ingenieria; desercion academica; estudiantes de primer ano; trayectorias academicas.

The quality of yarn is essential in the control of the fabrics processes. There is some commercial equipment that measures the quality of yarn based on sensors, of different types, used for collecting data about some textile yarn characteristic parameters. The irregularity of the textile thread influences its physical properties/characteristics and there may be a possibility of a break in the textile thread during the fabric manufacturing process. This can contribute to the occurrence of unwanted patterns in fabrics that deteriorate their quality. The existing equipment, for the above-mentioned purpose, is characterized by its high size and cost, and for allowing the analysis of only few yarn quality parameters. The main findings/results of the study are the yarn analysis method as well as the developed algorithm, which allows the analysis of defects in a more precise way. Thus, this paper presents the development and results obtained with the design of a mechatronic prototype integrating a computer vision system that allows, among other parameters, the analysis and classification, in real time, of the hairs of the yarn using artificial intelligence techniques. The system also determines other characteristics inherent to the yarn quality analysis, such as: linear mass, diameter, volume, twist orientation, twist step, average mass deviation, coefficient of variation, hairiness coefficient, average hairiness deviation, and standard hairiness deviation, as well as performing spectral analysis. A comparison of the obtained results with the designed system and a commercial equipment was performed validating the undertaken methodology.

Este estudo se insere na área de pesquisa sobre o ensino de ciências, com foco na formação inicial de professores para o ensino de ciências no Ensino Fundamental I. O objetivo foi compreender as percepções dos alunos do curso de Pedagogia da Universidade Federal de Alagoas sobre o ensino de ciências naturais e sua preparação para ensinar essa disciplina. Inicialmente, foi feita uma revisão da literatura sobre o tema. Na fase empírica, adotou-se uma abordagem qualitativa, com a aplicação de um questionário a 41 alunos do curso de Pedagogia da UFAL, que cursaram a disciplina \"Saberes e Metodologias do Ensino de Ciências II\" no primeiro semestre de 2017. O questionário, elaborado pelos autores, incluía questões abertas relacionadas à caracterização dos participantes, ao ensino de ciências e à formação inicial. Os resultados revelaram diversas questões a serem consideradas na formação dos futuros professores dos anos iniciais, como o propósito e as metodologias para ensinar ciências, além dos conteúdos a serem priorizados nesse processo formativo. O estudo conclui destacando que os alunos pesquisados se consideram capacitados para a prática docente, mas enfatizam a necessidade de uma disciplina teórico-conceitual mais robusta e uma maior integração entre o estágio supervisionado e o ensino de ciências.

The perceptions of students about their teachers have interested the academic and scientific community, regarding the improvement of the quality of higher education. This paper presents data obtained from interviews conducted with ten high achiever engineering students and focuses on the characteristics of teachers that are highly valued by the participants. Furthermore, the influence of teachers on the development of the students was explored. The data collected describes a set of aspects from the scientific, pedagogic and emotional domains, which students identified about their teachers. Some reflections and practical implications are also presented with regard to the characteristics and pedagogical needs of high achievers.

This paper presents a study to evaluate students' perception of the development and use of remote Control and Automation training kits developed and tested in two Portuguese universities. Three projects were implemented based on real-world environments. The students, supervised by teachers, designed and implemented the kits using the theoretical and practical knowledge taught in traditional classes. The end-user students tested the kits in the course curricular units, operating them either locally or remotely. Successful results were achieved not only in automation and control skills (hard skills) but also in the development of soft skills, leading to encouraging and rewarding goals, inspiring future decisions and promoting synergies in teamwork.