In the paper, the necessity of root stubble harvesting and recycling was put forward from the perspective of biomass energy utilization. To accomplish mechanized harvesting on root stubble, a rotary digging machine was designed based on parametric modeling software Solidworks. Firstly, parts were built under entity modeling module, and then assembled to 4 main mechanisms in assembling environme...

Leaf-cutting ant queens excavate a founding nest consisting of a vertical tunnel and a final horizontal chamber. Nest foundation is very time consuming, and colony success depends on the excavated depth. Although shallow nests may be energetically cheaper to dig, queens may be more exposed to the changing environment. Deeper chambers, in contrast, may be climatically more stable, but are more e...

We suggest that planning for automated earthmoving operations such as digging a foundation or leveling a mound of soil, be treated at multiple levels. In a system that we have developed, a coarse-level planner is used to tessellate the volume to be excavated into smaller pieces that are sequenced in order to complete the task efficiently. Each of the smaller volumes is treated with a refined pl...

The growing problem of obesity is associated with multiple morbidities, including increased risk of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, sleep apnea, and cancer. Obesity promotes disability, decreases productivity, and shortens life span. Although much attention has been focused on diet and exercise, these strategies alone are not effective in preventing obesity and maintaining weight loss. M...

Many ant species excavate nests that are made up of chambers and interconnecting tunnels. There is a general trend of an increase in nest complexity with increasing population size. This complexity reflects a higher ramification and anastomosis of tunnels that can be estimated by the meshedness coefficient of the tunnelling networks. It has long been observed that meshedness increases with colo...

BACKGROUND During the past decades, surgical intervention has been the primary treatment modality for frontoorbital fibrous dysplasia involving optic nerve. However, controversy has surrounded the role of optic nerve decompression in a number of ways. Herein, we describe 3 patients with frontoorbital fibrous dysplasia involving optic nerve, who underwent a "well digging" subcraniotomy strategy ...

The Chaco leaf-cutting ant Atta vollenweideri is native to the clay-heavy soils of the Gran Chaco region in South America. Because of seasonal floods, colonies are regularly exposed to varying moisture across the soil profile, a factor that not only strongly influences workers' digging performance during nest building, but also determines the suitability of the soil for the rearing of the colon...

The magnitude of the increasing problem of resistance really takes all its meaning when appraised side-by-side with the paucity of new antimicrobials reaching the market (1). Several factors have contributed to making antimicrobial discovery less fashionable nowadays. The gigantic costs of bringing a new compound to market, from the identification of a promising target at the preclinical stages...