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Few-shot font generation seeks to create high-quality fonts using minimal reference style images, addressing traditional font design’s labor-intensive and time-consuming nature, particularly for languages with large character sets like Chinese and Korean. Existing methods often require multi-stage training or predefined components, which can be time-consuming and limit generalizability. This paper introduces Patch-Font, a novel single-stage method that overcomes the limitations of prior approaches, such as multi-stage training or reliance on predefined components, by integrating a patch-based attention mechanism and a multitask encoder. Patch-Font jointly captures global style elements (e.g., overall font family characteristics) and local style details (e.g., serifs, stroke shapes), ensuring high fidelity to the target style while maintaining computational efficiency. Our approach incorporates triplet margin loss with hard positive/negative mining to disentangle style from content and a style fidelity loss to enhance local style consistency. Experiments on Korean (printed and handwritten) and Chinese fonts demonstrate that Patch-Font outperforms state-of-the-art methods in style accuracy, perceptual quality, and generation speed while generalizing robustly to unseen characters and font styles. By simplifying the font creation process and delivering high-quality results, Patch-Font represents a significant step forward in making font design more accessible and scalable for diverse languages.

The performance of wireless networks is related to the optimized structure of the antenna. Therefore, in this paper, a Machine Learning (ML)-assisted new methodology named Self-Adaptive Bayesian Neural Network (SABNN) is proposed, aiming to optimize the antenna pattern for next-generation wireless networks. In addition, the statistical analysis for the presented SABNN is evaluated in this paper and compared with the current Gaussian Process (GP). The training cost and convergence speed are also discussed in this paper. In the final stage, the proposed model’s measured results are demonstrated, showing that the system has optimized outcomes with less calculation time.

This study describes the basic design, material selection, fabrication, and evaluation of soft pneumatic actuators (SPA) for lower-limb rehabilitation compression therapy. SPAs can be a promising technology in proactive pressure delivery, with a wide range of dosages for treating venous-related diseases. However, the most effective design and material selection of SPAs for dynamic pressure delivery have not been fully explored. Therefore, a SPA chamber with two elastomeric layers was developed for this study, with single-side inflation. The 3D deformation profiles of the SPA chamber using three different elastomeric rubbers were analyzed using the finite element method (FEM). The best SPA-compliant behavior was displayed by food-grade silicone A10 Shore with a maximum deformation value of 25.34 mm. Next, the SPA chamber was fabricated using A10 Shore silicone and experimentally validated. During the simulation in FEM, the air pressure was applied on the inner wall of the chamber (i.e., the affected area). This is to ensure the applied pressure was evenly distributed in the inner wall while the outer wall of the chamber remained undeformed for all compression levels. During the inflation process, pressure will be applied to the SPA chamber, causing exerted pressure on the skin which is then measured for comparison. The simulation and experimental results show an excellent agreement of pressure transmission on the skin for the pressure range of 0–120 mmHg, as depicted in the Bland–Altman plots. The findings exhibited promising results in the development of the SPA chamber using low-cost and biocompatible food-grade silicone.

This experiment evaluated the performance of a combined geothermal heat pump and solar system (GHPS). A GHPS heating system was installed at a pig house and a comparative study was carried out between the environmentally friendly renewable energy source (GHPS) and the traditional heating method using fossil fuels. The impact of both heating systems on production performance, housing environment, noxious gas emission, and energy efficiency were evaluated along with the GHPS system performance parameters such as the coefficient of performance (COP), inlet and outlet water temperature and efficiency of solar collector. The average temperature inside the pig house was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the GHPS heating system. Similarly, the outflow temperature was increased significantly (p < 0.05) than the inflow temperature. The results of COP and efficiency of the solar system also indicated that the GHPS is an efficient heating system. The electricity consumption and carbon dioxide gas concentration were also reduced (p < 0.05) in the GHPS system. This study also predicts electricity consumption using an artificial intelligence (AI)-based model. The results showed that the proposed model justifies all the acceptance criteria in terms of the correlation coefficient, root mean square value and mean absolute error. The results of our experiment show that the GHPS system can be installed at a pig house for sustainable swine production as a renewable energy source.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) is a chronic and sometimes fatal condition which affects people all over the world. Nanotherapeutics have shown tremendous potential to combat chronic diseases—including DM2—as they enhance the overall impact of drugs on biological systems. Greenly synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from Catharanthus roseus methanolic extract (C. AgNPs) were examined primarily for their cytotoxic and antidiabetic effects. Methods: Characterization of C. AgNPs was performed by UV–vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The C. AgNPs were trialed on Vero cell line and afterwards on an animal model (rats). Results: The C. AgNPs showed standard structural and functional characterization as revealed by FTIR and XRD analyses. The zetapotential analysis indicated stability while EDX analysis confirmed the formation of composite capping with Ag metal. The cytotoxic effect (IC50) of C. AgNPs on Vero cell lines was found to be 568 g/mL. The animal model analyses further revealed a significant difference in water intake, food intake, body weight, urine volume, and urine sugar of tested rats after treatment with aqueous extract of C. AgNPs. Moreover, five groups of rats including control and diabetic groups (NC1, PC2, DG1, DG2, and DG3) were investigated for their blood glucose and glycemic control analysis. Conclusions: The C. AgNPs exhibited positive potential on the Vero cell line as well as on experimental rats. The lipid profile in all the diabetic groups (DG1-3) were significantly increased compared with both of the control groups (p < 0.05). The present study revealed the significance of C. AgNPs in nanotherapeutics.

Benzothiazole analogs are very interesting due to their potential activity against several infections. In this research, five benzothiazole derivatives were studied using density functional theory calculations. The optimized geometry, geometrical parameters and vibrational spectra were analyzed. The charge distribution diagrams, such as FMO (HOMO-LUMO), energies of HOMO-LUMO, polarizability, hyperpolarizability, MESP and density of states, were calculated. The computed energies of HOMO and LUMO showed that the transfer of charge occurred within the compound. The effect of the change of substituents on the ring on the value of the HOMO-LUMO energy gap was also observed. It was observed that, in this series, compound 4 with CF3 substituent had the lowest energy gap of HOMO-LUMO, and compound 5 with no substituent had highest HOMO-LUMO energy gap. From the energies of HOMO and LUMO, the reactivity descriptors, such as electron affinity (A), ionization potential (I), chemical softness (σ), chemical hardness (ƞ), electronic chemical potential (μ), electrophilicity index (ω), were calculated. In addition, the 13C and 1H NMR chemical shifts of the molecules were calculated using the gauge-independent atomic orbit (GIAO) method; the shifts were in good agreement with the experimental values. The anti-bacterial potential of compounds 1 to 5 was tested by molecular docking studies toward target proteins 2KAU and 7EL1 from Klebsiella aerogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. Compounds 3 and 1 showed high affinity toward 2KAU and 7EL1, respectively.

Rice (Oryza sativa) is an important staple food crop worldwide, especially in east and southeast Asia. About one-third of rice cultivated area is under saline soil, either natural saline soils or irrigation with brackish water. Salinity stress is among the devastating abiotic stresses that not only affect rice growth and crop productivity but also limit its cultivation area globally. Plants adopt multiple tolerance mechanisms at the morphological, physiological, and biochemical levels to tackle salinity stress. To identify these tolerance mechanisms, this study was carried out under both a controlled glass house as well as natural saline field conditions using 22 green super rice (GSR) lines along with two local varieties (“IRRI 6 and Kissan Basmati”). Several morpho-physiological and biochemical parameters along with stress-responsive genes were used as evaluation criteria under normal and salinity stress conditions. Correlation and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) suggested that shoot-related parameters and the salt susceptible index (SSI) can be used for the identification of salt-tolerant genotypes. Based on Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster (AHC) analysis, two saline-tolerant (“S19 and S20”) and saline-susceptible (“S3 and S24”) lines were selected for further molecular evaluation. Quantitative RT-PCR was performed, and results showed that expression of 1-5-phosphoribosyl -5-5-phosphoribosyl amino methylidene amino imidazole-4-carboxamide isomerase, DNA repair protein recA, and peptide transporter PTR2 related genes were upregulated in salt-tolerant genotypes, suggesting their potential role in salinity tolerance. However, additional validation using reverse genetics approaches will further confirm their specific role in salt tolerance. Identified saline-tolerant lines in this study will be useful genetic resources for future salinity breeding programs.

Restriction on using antibiotics in animal feed that generates demand for antibiotics alternatives in animal breeding. Providing safe food to humans free from the residual effects of antibiotics is a great challenge to animal producers and food-producing industry owners. Medicinal plants and their extracts as feed supplements have been used to promote the growth and health of farm animals for centuries. Protocatechuic acid (PCA) is a phenolic compound that originated from natural plants. For years, the health-promoting role of PCA has been becoming an attraction of research in nutrition and pharmacy. Thus, it can be used as an active natural feed additive while synthetic antibiotics are illegal to use in animal breeding. However, the practical application of PCA in view of dosages in animal nutrition, together with its mode of action on animal health, is not well known. In this regard, this review study has explored the mode of action of PCA and the feasibility of using those compounds in animal nutrition. This review study concludes that phenolic-rich protocatechuic acid as a natural feed additive may be useful in enhancing antioxidant status, immune function, antimicrobial, intestinal health and growth performance of farm animals.

This study compared the effects of the cooling mode of a geothermal heat pump (GHP) system with those of a traditional cooling system (ventilation fans) inside a pig house on the internal house temperature, harmful gas emissions, and the growth performance of the pigs. During the 19-week experimental period, the temperature inside the house connected to the GHP cooling system was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than that of a house with a conventional cooling system. Similarly, the temperature–humidity index (THI) was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in the GHP cooling system-connected pig house. Furthermore, the concentrations of ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) were also decreased significantly in the GHP-installed pig house (p < 0.05). However, no differences were observed in the concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) and formaldehyde (p > 0.05). The pigs reared in the GHP-equipped pig house gained significantly more weight (p < 0.05) by the end of the experiment. The GHP cooling system can therefore be implemented as a renewable, environmentally friendly energy source in pig farms for sustainable swine production without adversely affecting the productivity parameters.

The present study examined the cooling effects of an air heat pump (AHP) system. An AHP system was installed in a pig house to compare the effects with a traditional cooling system on the growth performance, noxious gas emission, housing environment and consumption of electricity. During the 19-week experimental trial, the internal temperature in the AHP cooling system-connected pig house was significantly decreased (p < 0.05) than the conventional house. Similarly, the temperature–humidity index (THI) was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in the growing and late finishing period. The carbon dioxide (CO2) and electricity consumption were also reduced significantly in the AHP cooling system relative to the control. The concentration of ammonia (NH3) during the weaning and finishing phase and the concentration of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) during all periods were lower in the AHP-installed pig house (p < 0.05). From 0–19 weeks, there was no significant difference was observed (p > 0.05) in terms of the growth performance of pigs in both houses. These results show that the AHP cooling system can be implemented as an environmentally friendly renewable energy source in swine farms for sustainable pig production and better air quality without adversely affecting productivity parameters.

With an emphasis on the global meat market and considering the ritual requirements and quality aspects, four types of slaughtering treatments were compared: (1) NSHS (without electrical stunning, halal neck cut, and subsequent bleeding for 180 s), (2) LSHS (electrically stunned at 250 mA for five seconds, halal neck cut, and subsequent bleeding for 180 s), (3) MSHS (electrically stunned at 500 mA for 10 s, halal neck cut, and subsequent bleeding for 180 s), and (4) HSHS (electrically stunned at 1000 mA for 20 s, halal neck cut, and subsequent bleeding for 180 s). Four hundred 36 day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens (body weights of 1.4 to 1.8 kg) were divided into four random groups of 100 birds each (ten replicated pens of ten birds). This study examined the livability, bleeding out, Pectoralis major and Flexor cruris medialis proximate composition, cholesterol content, fatty acid profile and post-mortem pH, microbial loads, and oxidative stability. The livability and bleeding out were higher in NSHS and LSHS than MSHS and HSHS (p < 0.05). The Pectoralis major and Flexor cruris medialis proximate composition, cholesterol content and fatty acid profile, post-mortem pH, and microbial loads were unaffected by the slaughter treatments (p > 0.05), but the oxidative stability of Pectoralis major differed during the eight-day post-mortem period (p < 0.05). The results suggest that for capturing the global meat market, the meat industry can consider NSHS and LSHS because the ritual requirements are fulfilled, and there is no negative impact on the nutritional aspects.

Because the application of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) causes accelerated adverse effects on the animal diet, the scientific community has taken progressive steps to enhance sustainable animal productivity without using AGP in animal nutrition. Organic acids (OAs) are non-antibiotic feed additives and a promising feeding strategy in the swine and broiler industry. Mechanistically, OAs improve productivity through multiple and diverse pathways in: (a) reduction of pathogenic bacteria in the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) by reducing the gut pH; (b) boosting the digestibility of nutrients by facilitating digestive enzyme secretion and increasing feed retention time in the gut system; and (c) having a positive impact and preventing meat quality deterioration without leaving any chemical residues. Recent studies have reported the effectiveness of using encapsulated OAs and synergistic mechanisms of OAs combinations in swine and broiler productivity. On the other hand, the synergistic mechanisms of OAs and the optimal combination of OAs in the animal diet are not completely understood, and further intensive scientific explorations are needed. Moreover, the ultimate production parameters are not similar owing to the type of OAs, concentration level, growth phase, health status of animals, hygienic standards, and environmental factors. Thus, those factors need to be considered before implementing OAs in feeding practices. In conclusion, the current review evaluates the basics of OAs, mode of action, novel strategies to enhance utilization, influence on growth performances, nutrient digestibility, and meat quality traits of swine and broilers and their potential concerns regarding utilization.

This study examined the effects of Mentha arvensis (MA) and Geranium thunbergii (GT) extracts in drinking water on the production performance, egg quality, cholesterol content of egg yolk, proximate composition, and sensory qualities of egg and immunity parameters in laying hens. Ninety-six 28-week-old Hy-Line Brown layers were randomly divided into four dietary treatments for 16 weeks. The dietary treatments were (1) control, (2) T1 (0.01% 1 MA:1 GT), (3) T2 (0.05% 1 MA:1 GT), and (4) T3 (0.1% 1 MA:1 GT). Egg production increased significantly with increasing levels of MA and GT. The egg weight was increased in T2, and the feed intake was highest in T2 and T3 (p < 0.05). The Haugh unit and egg shape index were significantly better in T3 and the control than with other treatments (p < 0.05). The content of yolk cholesterol was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in T2 and T3. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in the egg proximate composition. A significant increase in the serum interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) and immunoglobulins (IgG and IgA) concentration was observed in the birds fed plant extracts when compared to the control. On average, T2 and T3 showed significantly lower (p < 0.05) concentrations of NH3 gas from the feces as compared to the control. This study suggests that MA and GT supplementation could improve the laying performance, egg quality, and immunity, and decrease the egg yolk cholesterol content in a dose-dependent manner.

This study examined the effects of stevioside (S) and organic selenium (O-Se) supplementation on the sensory attributes, microbial activity, fatty acid composition, and meat quality traits of Hanwoo cattle (Korean native cattle). Twenty-four Hanwoo cattle (663 ± 22 kg body weight) were assigned to two dietary treatments for 8 months: control diet and 1% stevioside with 0.08% organic selenium supplemented diet. S and O-Se inclusion in the diet enhanced the final body weight, weight gain, and carcass crude protein (p < 0.05). Moreover, supplementation with S and O-Se had a significant effect on lowering the drip loss and shear force and enhanced the a* (redness) of the longissimus dorsi muscle (p < 0.05). The inclusion of dietary S and O-Se improved the sum of the polyunsaturated fatty acid (ΣPUFAs) content of the meat, and the oxidative status (TBARS) values during second week of storage decreased by 42% (p < 0.05). On the other hand, the microbial count tended to decrease (7.62 vs. 7.41 log10 CFU), but it was not significant (p > 0.05), and all sensory attributes were enhanced in the S and O-Se supplemented diet. Overall, these results suggest that supplementation of the ruminant diet with stevioside and organic selenium improves the growth performance, carcass traits, and meat quality with enriched PUFAs profile and retards the lipid oxidation during the storage period in beef.

This study examined the effects of a heating system using a ground source geothermal heat pump (GHP). A GHP was installed in a pig house, and a comparative analysis was performed between the GHP and the control (conventional heating system) in terms of the production performance, housing environment, noxious gas emissions, electricity consumption, and economics. The geothermal system performance index, such as the coefficient of performance (COP), inlet, and outlet temperature, were also evaluated. The outflow temperature during each period (weaning, growing, and finishing) was significantly higher than the inflow temperature in all three components of the GHP system. Similarly, the average internal temperature of the GHP-connected pig house was increased (p < 0.05) during each period. The carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, electricity usage, and cost of electricity during the 16-week experimental period were reduced significantly in the GHP system relative to the control. The concentrations of ammonia (NH3) during the growing and finishing period and the concentrations of formaldehyde during the weaning phase were also lower in the GHP-installed pig house (p < 0.05). These results indicate that the GHP system can be used as an environmentally friendly renewable energy source in pig houses for sustainable pig production without harming the growth performance.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative pathogenic bacterium that is present commonly in soil and water and is responsible for causing septic shock, pneumonia, urinary tract and gastrointestinal infections, etc. The multi-drug resistance (MDR) phenomenon has increased dramatically in past years and is now considered a major threat globally, so there is an urgent need to develop new strategies to overcome drug resistance by P. aeruginosa. In P. aeruginosa, a major factor of drug resistance is associated to the formation of biofilms by the LasR enzyme, which regulates quorum sensing and has been reported as a new therapeutic target for designing novel antibacterial molecules. In this study, virtual screening and molecular docking were performed against the ligand binding domain (LBD) of LasR by employing a pharmacophore hypothesis for the screening of 2373 FDA-approved compounds to filter top-scoring hit compounds. Six inhibitors out of 2373 compounds were found to have binding affinities close to that of known LasR inhibitors. The binding modes of these compounds to the binding site in LasR-LBD were analyzed to identify the key interactions that contribute to the inhibition of LasR activity. Then, 50 ns simulations of top hit compounds were performed to elucidate the stability of their binding conformations with the LasR-LBD. This study, thus concluded that sulfamerazine showed the highest binding affinity for the LasR-LBD binding pocket exhibiting strong inhibitory binding interactions during molecular dynamics (MD) simulation.

A 90-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of diets supplemented with three concentrations (control or 0%, 0.5% and 1.0%) of fermented Saccharina japonica and Dendropanax morbifera (FSJ-DM) on the meat composition, growth performance, oxidative stability and fatty acid profile of Korean native black goat (KNBG) meat. The feed conversion ratio and body weight gain (1st to 2nd month) were improved significantly (p < 0.05) in response to feed supplemented with 1.0% FSJ-DM. Moisture content was increased, whereas ether extract and cholesterol contents were decreased in meat obtained from goats supplemented with 1.0% FSJ-DM dietary feeds (p < 0.05). In the same diet group, the total saturated fatty acids (ΣSFA) were lower, whereas the sum of polyunsaturated fatty acids (ΣPUFA) was higher, along with higher PUFA/SFA ratio and lower n-6/n-3 ratio (p < 0.05). On an average, the dietary supplementation of 1.0% FSJ-DM reduced the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) and pH values of goat meat. Overall, the results of this study suggest that diet supplemented with 1.0% FSJ-DM improves the meat composition, growth performance and fatty acid profile and reduces lipid oxidation of goat meat.

Abstract: Elevated mineral fertilization may change the composition and increase the availability of soil phosphorus (P) in subtropical paddy soils and thus affect long-term plant growth. However, an understanding of the response of soil P fractions to long-term nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) additions remains elusive. This study aimed to explore the responses of soil P-fractions and their mobility to different long-term chemical fertilization rates under a double rice cropping system. The rates of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) in the low NPK treatment (LNPK) were 90, 45, and 75 kg ha−1 year−1, respectively, and in the high NPK treatment (HNPK), they were 180, 90, and 150 kg ha−1 year−1, respectively. The results showed that the concentrations of soil organic matter (SOM), total P, Olsen P, total N, and mineral N were remarkably increased under HNPK by 17.46%, 162.66%, 721.16%, 104.42%, and 414.46%, respectively, compared with those under control (CT). Compared to the CT P fractions, HNPK increased the labile P fractions (i.e., NaHCO3-Pi and NaHCO3-Po) by 322.25% and 83.53% and the moderately labile P fractions (i.e., NaOH-Pi, NaOH-Po and HCl. dil. Pi) by 163.54%, 183.78%, and 3167.25% respectively, while the non-labile P was decreased by the HNPK addition. P uptake and grain yield were increased by LNPK and HNPK by 10.02% and 35.20%, respectively, compared with CT. P use efficiency indices were also higher under HNPK than under LNPK. There was a strong positive relationship between grain yield and P use efficiency (R2 = 0.97). A redundancy analysis (RDA) showed a strong correlation between soil chemical properties and the labile and moderately labile P pools. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that SOM, mineral N, and available P strongly control the labile P pool. In conclusion, NPK additions under the paddy soils significantly influences the soil P fractions. The soil P dynamics and the mechanisms governing the interactions between plants and soil nutrients are clearly explained in this study.

This paper presents a novel approach of annular concentric split rings microelectromechanical resonators with tether configuration to reduce anchor loss and gives very high-quality factor (Q) 2.97 Million based on FEA (Finite Element Analysis) simulation. The operating frequencies of these resonators are 188.55 MHz to 188.62 MHz. When the proposed SR (square rectangle) hole shaped one dimensional phononic crystal (1D PnC), and two dimensional phononic crystal (2D PnC) structure consist of very wide and complete band gaps is applied to novel design rings MEMS resonators, the quality factor (Q) further improved to 19.7 Million and 1750 Million, respectively, by using the finite element method. It is also observed that band gaps become closer by reducing the value of filling fraction, and proposed SR PnC gives extensive peak attenuation. Moreover, harmonic response of ring resonator is verified by the perfect match layers (PML) technique surrounded by resonators with varying width 1.5λ, and 3λ effectively reduce the vibration displacement.