Search Results (1,040)

Culturally unsafe mental health services contribute to persistent inequities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, yet existing cultural safety frameworks lack clear, prioritised, community-endorsed implementation guidance. This study aimed to establish Aboriginal consensus on cultural safety principles, implementation priorities and practical actions for culturally safe mental health services. A three-round modified Delphi study was conducted with 37 Aboriginal participants from Western Australia with expertise in mental health, social and emotional wellbeing and lived experience. In Round 1, participants completed an online survey rating the importance of cultural safety principles and identifying those requiring urgent action. In Rounds 2 and 3, facilitated yarning sessions reviewed findings, refined principles, grouped them into implementation domains, and identified priority actions. Aboriginal Participatory Action Research ensured Aboriginal leadership and governance throughout. All principles achieved strong consensus for importance. The most urgent priorities were trustworthiness, Aboriginal governance, trauma-informed care, addressing racism and strengthening the Aboriginal workforce. Participants organised the refined principles into six implementation domains, with Leadership and Governance identified as foundational to reform. Trustworthiness was reframed as an aspirational outcome requiring structural change. This study provides a community-endorsed, prioritised framework for translating cultural safety principles into mental health service practice and policy. Full article

The study presents an exploratory design-space mapping approach for analysing knitted fabrics through the combined consideration of structural, comfort-related, and optical parameters. The methodology addresses the multi-parameter nature of knitted macrostructures, where functional behaviour emerges from the interaction of yarn composition, stitch architecture, and structural configuration rather than from isolated descriptors. Twelve knitted samples differing in stitch type and yarn linear density, and incorporating photoluminescent and reflective yarns, were analysed. Fabric thickness and air permeability were selected as representative structural and comfort-related parameters, while optical response was characterised using a dimensionless reflectance ratio under multiple illumination conditions. All parameters were normalised to enable comparative representation within a unified design space. The resulting maps reveal visual clusters, structurally isolated cases, and illumination-dependent optical equivalence between structurally different configurations. The findings demonstrate that similar optical performance can be achieved through alternative structural solutions, depending on the illumination context. The proposed approach provides a qualitative, design-oriented framework that supports engineering decision-making without implying optimisation or ranking, while revealing alternative design pathways and context-dependent equivalence. Full article

This study investigates the frequency-dependent electrical conductivity of electrically conductive threads (also known as e-threads), particularly focusing on their inherently lower conductivity than traditional conductors like copper. While efforts have been made to electrically characterize conductive threads in the past, most studies have focused on DC or frequencies lower than 1 GHz. Recent works have evaluated attenuation up to 6 GHz, but they do not report bulk conductivity and lack validation in the context of antenna applications. In a major step forward, this study reports a systematic way of characterizing the surface conductivity of conductive yarns, for eight different thread types, from 10 MHz to 6 GHz. Different parameters such as insertion loss, attenuation, and conductivity are reported, determining the suitability of conductive yarns at specific frequencies. The study also reports the first frequency-dependent bulk conductivity of individual conductive threads. By measuring both surface and bulk conductivity, our work provides foundational data crucial for designing textile-based antennas and sensors. The practical relevance of the proposed approach is demonstrated through simulations and measurements of a broadband log-spiral antenna and a single-turn loop antenna. Overall, this research contributes valuable insights into the integration of e-textiles in smart fabric applications, paving the way for further innovations in this evolving field. Full article

Permanency planning, an approach to the placement of children in out-of-home care, is central to child and family system practice, policy and law. Using the example of legislative reforms in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, this article explores how privileging legal permanence leads to ongoing failures to account for Aboriginal worldviews and child-rearing practices. Drawing on qualitative research, including Yarning Circles and semi-structured interviews that I conducted with Aboriginal community members in NSW, the findings contribute to limited evidence on permanence from Indigenous perspectives, revealing how familial and cultural connectedness shape belonging and social and emotional wellbeing and highlighting the importance of children’s ongoing connections with extended Aboriginal family, community and culture. Aboriginal understandings of permanence align more closely with cultural, relational and physical domains than with the construct of legal permanence that predominates in permanency planning approaches. Prioritizing legally permanent care arrangements above other domains poses long-term risks to Aboriginal children’s social and emotional wellbeing, demonstrating the need for “deep-level” cultural adaptation in child welfare law, policy and practice. The findings have implications for decolonizing child protection and repositioning Aboriginal conceptualizations of permanence as the foundation for legislation, policy and practice—reforms that must be Indigenous-led, culturally grounded from the outset, and anchored in full implementation of principles embedding self-determination and Indigenous children’s fundamental rights. Full article

To solve the problems of rotor position estimation error caused by the installation deviation of Hall sensors and the increase in yarn amount detection error in complex environments, resulting in speed fluctuations and unstable yarn feeding in the traditional permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive system for yarn feeder, a control method for yarn amount in yarn feeder PMSMs based on an improved dual second-order generalized integrator (DSOGI) and Kalman filter is proposed. Firstly, in order to reduce the influence of installation deviation of Hall sensors, the three-phase Hall signals are converted into two-phase orthogonal Hall vector signals. An improved DSOGI is used to filter out high-order harmonic components and specific harmonic components in the Hall vector signals, and a cross-coupled structure is constructed to further enhance the fundamental component and suppress high-order harmonic components of negative coefficients. Then, accurate motor rotor position information is extracted by a quadrature phase-locked loop; secondly, in order to obtain accurate information on yarn amount, a system state model based on yarn amount and its rate of change is established, and Kalman filtering is used for optimal estimation of the yarn amount; finally, the above methods are integrated into the PMSM control system of the yarn feeder. Experimental results show that, compared with traditional methods, the PMSM control system of the yarn feeder using the method proposed in this paper has a shorter startup time and smaller steady-state error in motor speed and yarn amount when conveying yarn at a constant speed; when transporting yarn at variable speed, the motor speed and yarn amount settling time are shorter, and the peak deviation is smaller. Full article

Yarn tenacity is one of the vital quality parameters that determine the performance, fabric durability and end use suitability. The tenacity of yarn is largely influenced by the fibre characteristics used. The physical properties of jute fibres, including root content, defect, bundle strength, and fineness, exert a significant influence on yarn tenacity. This study utilized metaheuristic optimized random forest regression (RFR) to predict jute yarn tenacity from fibre parameters. The hyperparameters of the RFR models were optimized using four metaheuristic algorithms: whale optimization algorithm (WOA), grey wolf optimization (GWO), beetle antennae search (BAS) and ant colony optimization (ACO). The model utilized a dataset comprising 414 experimental data with 70% data for training and 30% for testing the model, using input variables such as bundle strength (g/tex), defects (%), root content (%) and fineness (tex) to predict yarn tenacity (cN/tex). The developed models effectively predicted yarn tenacity. However, RFR–GWO achieved slightly better performance with R² of 1.0 for training set and 0.96 for test set. Regarding execution time, RFR–GWO is the fastest requiring only 14.25 s. SHAP analysis revealed that bundle strength and root content of jute fibre are the most influential factors, whereas defect and fineness exert the least influence on model’s prediction. The best model RFR–GWO was deployed into an interactive Streamlit web application, offering an intuitive and user-friendly platform for the real-time estimation of yarn tenacity. Full article

This study presents a systematic evaluation of 2-layer conductive Jacquard knitted fabrics with a birdseye backing designed for wearable electronic applications. Three sets of samples with 9 different proportions of conductive yarn (27 samples) are designed on a computerized flat-knitting machine, and three indicators (conductive yarn usage ratio, resistance change ratio after washing, and temperature variation) are examined. The 2-layer Jacquard structure enables conductive yarns to form loops on both the technical face and back, thus producing continuous and interlocked conductive pathways. The experimental results show that the proportions of pattern dots for the conductive yarns determine the amount of conductive yarn used in a 2-layer Jacquard structure with the same technical parameters. For the samples with 10–90% pattern dots, the conductive yarn consumption ratio ranges from 34.80% to 65.18%. After 10 washes, resistance change ratio ranges from 27.66~55.54%, which show a moderate electrical stability. After 10 washes, the heating temperature increases by 15.6 to 19.67 °C, which show good thermal properties. Finally, a fuzzy logic evaluation is conducted with objective indicator weights. The findings provide quantitative evidence for the material–structure integration of conductive knitted textiles and support their potential for applications in next-to-skin smart garments. Full article

Traditional ready-to-wear garments can mostly not conform to different body shapes because of the adoption of the generic sizing system, which leads to the local strain of concentration and morphological misfit. Auxetic structures, which have a negative Poisson’s ratio, permit enhanced redistribution of stress and geometry and allow deformation. Two auxetic knitted structures were developed by using 100% polyester and 100% nylon yarns with a fabric density of 41 Wales and 40 courses per inch. Characterization of the initial fabrics involved checking the behavior of negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) where the polyester line (P1) structure shows the highest auxeticity, with a NPR of approximately −0.4 and peak strain reductions of 80–90%, as well as air permeability, moisture management, bend test, compression, roughness, friction properties and stiffness tests to check the mechanical and comfort-related performances. The standardized tunic garment was modeled in CLO 3D on three female body shapes—hourglass, pear and rectangle—with a constant size of 34. The fit map showed a strain of 91.49% in auxetic and 509.75% in single-jersey fabric at the hip area of the pear body shape when measuring fabric and body interaction. The findings indicate lower peak strain levels, which ascertain that increased adaptability is possible and support its use in the development of adaptive ready-to-wear garments. Full article

This study represents the first comprehensive investigation examining how oven temperature and drawing ratios, two key tow stretch-breaking parameters, influence the properties of high-bulk acrylic yarns. Only the tow parameters were altered, while all other production parameters involved in converting from tow to yarn remained constant. Two experimental sets were conducted. In the first, oven temperatures (100 °C, 120 °C, 130 °C, 150 °C, and 170 °C) and the ratios (1.3, 1.47, 1.59, and 1.64) in the drawing zone (E₁) were altered. In the second, oven temperatures (130 °C and 150 °C) and the ratios (1.3, 1.35, 1.49, 1.54, 1.62, 1.66, 1.70, 1.81, and 1.90) in the break-draw zone (E₅) were altered. The samples, produced on industrial-scale machines, were evaluated for shrinkage of fiber slivers in water steam, yarn hairiness, unevenness, tensile strength and strain, and hand-feel rating of yarn balls. The highest shrinkage was obtained at 130 °C and 150 °C with the drawing ratio of 1.47, while the lowest occurred at 130 °C with the drawing ratio of 1.3. The lowest tensile strength and strain were obtained at 150 °C, while the highest values were obtained at 130 °C with 1.59. The yarn hairiness and unevenness were lowest at 130 °C and increased at both lower and higher temperatures. Full article

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents living in rural communities do not have sufficient access to health promotion services. Community programs that respond to adolescent needs, highlight community strengths, and are locally tailored are needed. Set in Queensland (Australia), this study was cross-sectional and qualitative in design. Using implementation science and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander frameworks, this study aimed to identify community priorities for the co-design of a culturally appropriate, empowerment-focused nutrition program with rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents. Through community yarning, the barriers, enablers, and opportunities for program implementation were explored within an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health organization. Ten adolescents, two parents/caregivers, eight healthcare staff, six community leaders, and four Elders participated. Thematic analysis identified six themes that outline community health priorities, contextualization to the local food environment, and the importance of cooking skills for empowerment and involving the family unit. Thematic analysis also explored community preferences for program evaluation. Themes were integrated with other knowledge sources to develop a program outline that is aligned with evidence-based practice and community voice. Implementation of the co-designed program is recommended and will be explored in partnership with the community through future research. Full article

Glycidol, a probable human carcinogen, remains an under-investigated process contaminant in soy sauce. This study developed a sensitive and specific liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for its determination in this complex condiment. The approach combined chemical derivatization with p-Dimethylaminophenol hydrochloride for analyte stabilization with an optimized sample pretreatment using a custom-packed activated carbon solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge effectively removed matrix interferences, and performing the derivatization at pH 6.5 prevented conversion of 2- and 3-monochloropropanediol (2-MCPD and 3-MCPD) into glycidol, ensuring high specificity and accuracy. This approach shows broad linearity from 1 to at least 100 ng/mL (R² = 0.9993), and demonstrates excellent performance, with a limit of detection and quantification of 0.5 ng/mL and 1.0 ng/mL, respectively. Application to commercial samples (n = 11) confirmed the presence of glycidol, highlighting the need for its monitoring. This work provides a robust analytical tool essential for supporting food safety surveillance of this contaminant in fermented foods. Full article

This study developed an interpretable framework, RFE-SHAP, designed for yarn quality prediction. It integrates Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) with SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) theory to refine feature selection and mitigate data redundancy in small-sample environments. With Support Vector Regression (SVR) serving as the foundational evaluator, the RFE process iteratively identifies critical variables. Distinct from conventional methods, our approach employs SHAP values to quantify both the primary effects of individual features and the complex synergistic interactions among variables. This yields a transparent and intuitive strategy for identifying optimal feature subsets for two key quality indicators: yarn strength and hairiness H-value. To assess performance, a comparative analysis was performed between the traditional SVR-RFE method and the proposed RFE-SHAP method, using both as inputs for a Back-Propagation Artificial Neural Network (BP-ANN). The experimental results based on authentic production data demonstrate that the RFE-SHAP-BP model significantly enhances prediction reliability. Notably, compared to the baseline SVR-RFE-BP model, the proposed approach reduced the Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) by 0.73 and 1.01 percentage points for yarn strength and hairiness H-value, respectively. The final MAPE values reached 2.10% and 2.78%, confirming the model’s superior precision. These findings indicate that the RFE-SHAP method is highly feasible and effectively elevates prediction performance in data-limited industrial scenarios. Full article

Compression textiles have been widely applied in medical, sportswear, and daily usage, with single-jersey structures produced by circular knitting dominating the market due to their thinness and light weight. However, the presence of seams may compromise compression performance and wearer comfort. This study investigates the effects of yarn type, number of yarns, and loop length on pressure, stretchability, and thermal comfort of seamless punch-lace knitted fabrics and explores their potential application in compression textiles. The results show that yarn number is the dominant factor influencing fabric stiffness, stretchability, and pressure. Fabrics with increased yarn content demonstrate higher maximum load and compression pressure. Smaller loop lengths and additional reinforcing yarns improve dimensional stability and resistance to extension. Air permeability decreases with increasing yarn number due to increased fabric thickness and reduced porosity, while thermal conductivity increases and is positively associated with ventilation resistance, indicating a trade-off between heat transfer and breathability. Surface friction and roughness are significantly affected by yarn number, yarn type, and loop length, whereas water vapour permeability shows no significant relationship with the investigated variables. Overall, seamless punch-lace knitted fabrics demonstrate strong potential for compression applications, although careful design is required to balance breathability and thermal comfort. Full article

This study investigates the dynamic artifacts (DAs) in knitted resistive strain sensors (KRSS) subjected to various deformation types, including stair-wise, trapezoidal, and triangle-type deformations. The presence of DAs, characterized by sharp peak-wise increases in resistance followed by a gradual decline, was observed across all KRSS samples. The amplitude of DA peaks increased with higher deformation velocities within the investigated range of 2.6–40 cm/s. The study also identified the temporal offset between resistance and deformation during linear deformation, suggesting a complex mechanism underlying DAs. The results demonstrate that DAs are most prominent in stepwise and trapezoidal deformations, while continuous deformations like triangle-type loading partially mask these artifacts. The resistance signals were recorded at a sampling rate of 150 Hz, with temporal desynchronization between recorded parameters not exceeding 6.7 ms, enabling the observation of dynamic effects. Manifestation of DAs in KRSS degrades the metrological characteristics of KRSS and cannot be ignored. This paper provides insights into the relationship between KRSS structure, deformation velocity, and DA behavior, and provides an experimental basis for future compensation approaches to mitigate the impact of DAs on measurement accuracy. Full article

This paper presents a yarn tension sensor based on Surface Acoustic Waves (SAW). To enhance the detection accuracy of the sensor, an improved beam structure is designed for tension measurement, along with intelligent algorithms for temperature compensation. Firstly, regarding the sensor structure, a simply supported beam with a hyperbolic surface is designed to achieve stress concentration by reducing the section modulus at the beam’s midpoint. Secondly, by incorporating an unbalanced split-electrode Interdigital Transducer (IDT) design, the sensor effectively suppresses signal sidelobe interference and significantly improves the structure’s tension sensitivity. Finally, in terms of signal processing, to eliminate the influence of environmental temperature fluctuations on measurements, a temperature-compensation algorithm based on Bayesian Optimization Least Squares Support Vector Machine (BO-LSSVM) with Gaussian Process regression is proposed. Experimental results show that the tension sensitivity of the improved structure was 8.2% higher than that of the doubly clamped beam and 12.7% higher than that of the cantilever beam. For temperature compensation, the BO-LSSVM model reduced the Mean Relative Error (MRE) by 5.67 percentage points relative to raw data and by 2.04 percentage points relative to the fixed-parameter LSSVM model, lowering the temperature sensitivity coefficient from 4.09 $(\times {10}^{-3}/°\mathrm{C})$ to 0.41 $({10}^{-3}/°\mathrm{C})$. Full article