When building nests, ants strike a balance between transportation efficiency and architectural constraints. Researchers say that observation could help humans design more efficient transportation systems tailored to specific needs.

Could ants’ nests hold the secret to reducing traffic congestion on the 405 Freeway?

In a new study, UCLA biologists discovered insights about how ants build their nests that could be useful for designing more efficient human transportation systems.

The scientists were interested in learning whether the way ants build their nests is more influenced by the evolutionary history of each individual species or current ecological conditions.

What they found was that evolution could not explain the variations they observed among different species’ nests. Rather, they found, the environments in which ants forage and the way they transport food are the main factors that dictate how each species builds its nests.

The lesson for humans? If roads were better tailored to the ways goods and people move through our cities, transportation networks could be more efficient.

For example, congestion on Southern California’s freeways might be improved if there were dedicated lanes or roads for trucks traveling to and from major logistics hubs like ports, warehouses and distribution centers.

According to the study, the environments in which ants forage and the way they transport food are the main factors that dictate how each species builds its nests. Image credit: Jorge Coromina/Unsplash

“Ants deal with the same issues we deal with when it comes to living in crowded spaces,” said Sean O’Fallon, a UCLA doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology, and the study’s first author.

“We’re densely packed in cities, and ideally we should be densely connected, but there are constraints to how closely packed together we can be. There’s only so much space to construct buildings and roads.”

In the study, published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, scientists analyzed information from two sources — details about 397 ant nests came from previously published data and images, and the authors conducted new studies of 42 other nests, all located at the Archbold Biological Reserve near Venus, Florida. In total, the 439 nests represented 31 different species of ants.

They discovered that nest structures were largely determined by factors like whether ants foraged alone or in groups, as well as the methods they used to recruit other ants to help find and carry food. In a nutshell, the animals’ activity and behavior play bigger roles in nest construction than any innate evolutionary template.

“You can think of the nest itself as a transportation network — it’s where ants live, but it’s also a kind of highway network they move things in and out of,” said Noa Pinter-Wollman, a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and the paper’s corresponding author.

The researchers examined four common foraging strategies used by ants. In some species, individual ants hunt for food. In others, an ant brings food to the nest as a means of recruiting other ants to accompany it to the food source.

Ants can also form a continuous trail between the food source and the nest that can persist for months. Or they can leave a pheromone trail that members of the colony can follow in large numbers — a phenomenon the researchers called “mass recruitment.”

Ants’ nests consist of a tunnel leading down to an entrance chamber, where ants enlist other members of their colony to help them find or transport food. From the entrance chamber, tunnels lead down to other chambers, which are connected by tunnels to still deeper chambers. Chambers serve different purposes, such as food and waste storage and rearing young.

The researchers expected that in ant species that use the mass recruitment style of foraging, the nests’ entrance chambers would be larger than they are in other species’ nests, because those spaces would need to allow larger numbers of ants to interact. And indeed, they found that to be the case.

However, the scientists also expected that nests for the mass recruitment foragers would have greater “network density” — meaning larger numbers of connections among the chambers — than nests built by other species. Greater network density, the scientists reasoned, would help facilitate more movement of ants and resources throughout the nest.

But the research revealed that for ants representing all four foraging strategies, network density was relatively low — even for large nests with hundreds of chambers. In fact, the study revealed, across all foraging strategies, nests with the most chambers tended to have the lowest network density.

In the paper, the researchers write that finding could be simply a function of architecture: Too many tunnels between chambers could weaken the structural integrity of the nest, which could cause the entire system to collapse.

“Ants have to balance the efficiency of highly connected nests with architectural stability,” Pinter-Wollman said. “On one hand, they want transportation to be faster, but if they start making too many connections, the nest will crumble.

Written by Holly Ober

Source: UCLA

Running a hospital or healthcare center is not easy. It requires more than just a highly skilled staff. It demands efficiency, quality service, and top-notch operations. One essential tool in today’s healthcare landscape is a robust healthcare management system software. While shifting from older systems to modern healthcare software may seem costly, it is an inevitable step towards providing quick, high-quality care to patients and ensuring the hospital functions efficiently.

Understanding the needs of staff, patients, and management is the key when considering custom solutions or working with contractors to implement such software. Custom solutions can tailor the system to the unique requirements of a healthcare institution.

Benefits you get from having implemented HMS Software

Hospital management systems offer a variety of features that significantly benefit doctors. They help them in providing better patient care while they still can dedicate more time to their patients rather than being bogged down with paperwork. Modern hospitals equip their staff with the right infrastructure, centralizing patient information in a single, accessible database. This enables quick access to patient history and test results, optimizing processes and making them more efficient.

A proficient hospital management system should include a range of features that contribute to the hospital’s smooth and efficient functioning.

#1 Automatic call processing

Automated call processing ensures effective and efficient communication within the hospital. No more missed or unanswered phone calls. And no more nurses spending half a day on the phone.

#2 Appointment notifications

Sending appointment notifications to patients helps in better appointment management and reduces no-shows. Doctors can be sure they will have their day as planned.

#3 Medical test results notifications

Automated notifications of medical test results to patients improve communication and the overall patient experience. There is no need to go back to the laboratory to get your paper results.

#4 Automatic filling of medical records

No more tons of papers! The system of automatic filling of medical records saves time and ensures accuracy. Moreover, both doctors and patients can have access to all the information.

#5 Quick patient registration

No more 1-hour paper questionnaires or phone talks with spelling exercises. HMS allows for simplifying this process and provides timely care.

#6 Online doctor’s consulting hours

The pandemic has shown that having the option of getting an appointment online can be a lifesaver! Everyone can get fair treatment and, most importantly, on time.

#7 Online prescriptions

It is a common problem that people may lose or forget a piece of paper with a prescription on it. That is why having it online makes sure patients can always buy their medication when needed.

#8 Integration of patients information across multiple doctors

It is no secret that our health information is not specified to just one doctor. It is important for them to be able to see the whole picture. So, providing access to patients’ information across all doctors is a must, and it improves the whole delivery of healthcare services.

When the integration of all systems and processes is fulfilled into a unified platform, it ensures smooth operations throughout the hospital or any other medical institution.

When speaking of the most significant advantages of a healthcare management system, we should mention the efficient scheduling it offers to doctors. They are able to see the whole day and analyze how to make better decisions on planning. As a result, it improves the services patients get. It is impossible to overestimate the help HMS brings to doctors and nurses as well as patients.

Moreover, hospital management systems focus on revenue management. What does it mean? The system aids in optimizing durations of appointments without compromising on service quality. By analyzing doctor schedules, the administration can calculate work hours, considering peak times and equipment maintenance. Doctors can easily recommend treatment protocols based on predefined illness categories, providing a structured approach to care. The system also offers insights into hospital profitability and campaign effectiveness tracking.

Features to include

When you are considering implementing the hospital management system software, there are several critical features that should be taken into account. Let’s explore them!

#1 Editing and printing patient data

The software should allow easy editing and printing of patient details and data. All doctors and nurses get quick access to vital patient information, treatment plans, prescriptions, and complaints.

#2 Automated cost calculations

This feature is especially great for patients. When there is an automatic calculation of service costs, patients can more freely book appointments. It boosts important aspects of healthcare services – transparency and efficiency.

#3 Payment history tracking

This feature simplifies and improves financial management. It includes tracking and retrieval of payment history, services provided, and associated costs.

#4 Billing and invoicing

This feature is needed for simplifying financial transactions. It handles billing for services, generates invoices, and supports various payment methods. Both hospitals and patients benefit from it as they choose the most suitable payment method.

#5 Mobile accessibility

Responsive solutions are a must in the modern world. HMS software is not an exception. Healthcare professionals and patients should be able to access the system on the go, at any place and time. It ensures flexibility and accessibility to crucial data when needed.

#6 Security and compliance

There is no need to explain why these features are essential. What should be included? Robust security features, data encryption, user authentication, and compliance with healthcare data privacy regulations (such as HIPAA) to protect sensitive patient information.

Last but not least

Hospital management system software is a vital tool in modern healthcare institutions. There are many improvements that come with its implementations. High-quality services, optimized working hours, and advanced healthcare services. And these are just the main of them. Be up to date and enhance your medical institution with this state-of-the-art solution!

MIT engineers and collaborators developed a solar-powered desalination device that avoids salt-clogging issues of other designs.

Engineers at MIT and in China aim to turn seawater into drinking water with a completely passive device inspired by the ocean and powered by the sun.

In a paper appearing in the journal Joule, the team outlines the design for a new solar desalination system that takes in salt water and heats it with natural sunlight.

The desalination device’s configuration allows water to circulate in swirling eddies, like the ocean’s much larger “thermohaline” circulation. This circulation, combined with the sun’s heat, evaporates water, leaving salt behind. The resulting water vapor can then be condensed and collected as pure, drinkable water.

In the meantime, the leftover salt continues to circulate through and out of the device, rather than accumulating and clogging the system.

The new desalination system has a higher water-production rate and a higher salt-rejection rate than all other passive solar desalination concepts currently being tested.

The researchers estimate that if the system is scaled up to the size of a small suitcase, it could produce about 4 to 6 liters of drinking water per hour and last several years before requiring replacement parts. At this scale and performance, the system could produce drinking water at a rate and price that is cheaper than tap water.

Outdoor test of the prototype under natural sunlight. Image credits: Jintong Gao and Zhenyuan Xu / MIT

“For the first time, it is possible for water, produced by sunlight, to be even cheaper than tap water,” says Lenan Zhang, a research scientist in MIT’s Device Research Laboratory.

The team envisions a scaled-up desalination device could passively produce enough drinking water to meet the daily requirements of a small family. The system could also supply off-grid, coastal communities where seawater is easily accessible.

Zhang’s study co-authors include MIT graduate student Yang Zhong and Evelyn Wang, the Ford Professor of Engineering, along with Jintong Gao, Jinfang You, Zhanyu Ye, Ruzhu Wang, and Zhenyuan Xu of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.

A powerful convection

The team’s new desalination system improves on their previous design — a similar concept of multiple layers, called stages. Each stage contained an evaporator and a condenser that used heat from the sun to passively separate salt from incoming water.

That design, which the team tested on the roof of an MIT building, efficiently converted the sun’s energy to evaporate water, which was then condensed into drinkable water.

But the salt that was left over quickly accumulated as crystals that clogged the system after a few days. In a real-world setting, a user would have to place stages on a frequent basis, which would significantly increase the system’s overall cost.

In a follow-up effort, they devised a solution with a similar layered configuration, this time with an added feature that helped to circulate the incoming water as well as any leftover salt. While this design prevented salt from settling and accumulating on the device, it desalinated water at a relatively low rate.

In the latest iteration, the team believes it has landed on a desalination system design that achieves both a high water-production rate, and high salt rejection, meaning that the system can quickly and reliably produce drinking water for an extended period.

The key to their new design is a combination of their two previous concepts: a multistage system of evaporators and condensers, that is also configured to boost the circulation of water — and salt — within each stage.

“We introduce now an even more powerful convection, that is similar to what we typically see in the ocean, at kilometer-long scales,” Xu says.

The small circulations generated in the team’s new system is similar to the “thermohaline” convection in the ocean — a phenomenon that drives the movement of water around the world, based on differences in sea temperature (“thermo”) and salinity (“haline”).

“When seawater is exposed to air, sunlight drives water to evaporate. Once water leaves the surface, salt remains. And the higher the salt concentration, the denser the liquid, and this heavier water wants to flow downward,” Zhang explains.

“By mimicking this kilometer-wide phenomena in small box, we can take advantage of this feature to reject salt.”

Tapping out

The heart of the team’s new design is a single stage that resembles a thin box, topped with a dark material that efficiently absorbs the heat of the sun. Inside, the box is separated into a top and bottom section.

Water can flow through the top half, where the ceiling is lined with an evaporator layer that uses the sun’s heat to warm up and evaporate any water in direct contact. The water vapor is then funneled to the bottom half of the box, where a condensing layer air-cools the vapor into salt-free, drinkable liquid.

The researchers set the entire box at a tilt within a larger, empty vessel, then attached a tube from the top half of the box down through the bottom of the vessel, and floated the vessel in saltwater.

In this configuration, water can naturally push up through the tube and into the box, where the tilt of the box, combined with the thermal energy from the sun, induces the water to swirl as it flows through. The small eddies help to bring water in contact with the upper evaporating layer while keeping salt circulating, rather than settling and clogging.

The team built several prototypes of this desalination device, with one, three, and 10 stages, and tested their performance in water of varying salinity, including natural seawater and water that was seven times saltier.

From these tests, the researchers calculated that if each stage were scaled up to a square meter, it would produce up to 5 liters of drinking water per hour, and that the system could desalinate water without accumulating salt for several years.

Given this extended lifetime, and the fact that the system is entirely passive, requiring no electricity to run, the team estimates that the overall cost of running the system would be cheaper than what it costs to produce tap water in the United States.

“We show that this device is capable of achieving a long lifetime,” Zhong says. “That means that, for the first time, it is possible for drinking water produced by sunlight to be cheaper than tap water. This opens up the possibility for solar desalination to address real-world problems.”

“This is a very innovative approach that effectively mitigates key challenges in the field of desalination,” says Guihua Yu, who develops sustainable water and energy storage systems at the University of Texas at Austin, and was not involved in the research.

“The design is particularly beneficial for regions struggling with high-salinity water. Its modular design makes it highly suitable for household water production, allowing for scalability and adaptability to meet individual needs.”

Written by Jennifer Chu

Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The 9th edition of the prestigious European Rover Challenge (ERC) space robotics competition has concluded this Sunday. After intense competition on the world’s largest artificial Marsyard, team AGH Space Systems emerged as the best robotic team, meeting the rigorous demands of the jury.

Second and third place were won by two teams from Switzerland: FHNW Rover Team and EPFL Xplore. For the first time, participants underwent a certification process confirming their knowledge and skills.

The exciting rivalry of teams from around the world was accompanied by numerous attractions and surprises: a meeting with the ESA astronaut Sławosz Uznański, an outdoor cinema, sky observations, and the opportunity to control rovers, drones, and walking robots.

35 of the world’s best academic teams from almost all continents participated in the finals. This year’s edition took place in two formulas: 20 teams competed on-site, while 15 took part remotely from the farthest corners of the globe.

The competition took place on the surface which was inspired by a fragment of the Martian landscape, and the teams had to meet the challenges faced by engineers of real Martian missions. The tasks prepared by the organizers posed significant obstacles for the teams this year.

The geological puzzle turned out to be so complex that only a few teams managed to solve it. Meanwhile, the terrain’s formation caused significant difficulties for the rovers.

1st prizes in the competition were awarded to AGH Space Systems from Poland (ON-SITE formula) and Makercie from Netherlands (REMOTE formula). The following places were taken by the teams: second place: FNHW Rover Team from Switzerland and DJS Antariksh from India and the podium was closed by the teams: EPFL Xplore from Switzerland and ProjectRED from Italy.

For the first time, except for the experience of participating in the unique space project, members of the academic teams could also obtain a formal certificate as part of the “ERC Space & Robotics Industry Standard Practice Programme”, confirming their competence in specific scientific and technological areas.

Thanks to this, every member of the participating team could receive a document certifying their knowledge and experience. Like other certificates from the space industry, the ERC document became a formal confirmation of the participant’s substantive contribution to the rover’s construction and their commitment to the project.

Visitors to the 9th edition of the European Rover Challenge, could also experience educational workshops prepared by exhibitors, scientific experiments, and immerse themselves in interactions with robots and space technologies.

Meetings with ESA Astronaut Slawosz Uznanski, and Robert Zubrin, an advocate for Mars exploration, attracted great interest. The youngest attendees learned about the Solar System and found out where in the Universe life might exist.

The European Rover Challenge was held under the constant patronage of the European Space Agency and the Polish Space Agency. Co-organizers of ERC 2023 were the European Space Foundation, the Kielce University of Technology, and the Marshal’s Office of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship.

The City of Kielce once again serves as the Host City of the event, and among the partners, were: Mars Society Poland, ESA BIC Poland / Industrial Development Agency, Poznań University of Technology, Polish Space Professionals Association PSPA, Employers’ Association of the Space Sector, Pyramid Games, Pokojowy Patrol, Poland Convention Bureau, Polish Tourism Organization, as well as the American corporation Mathworks and RedWire.

The project is partially financed by the “Social Responsibility of Science” program of the Minister of Education and Science.

More about the European Rover Challenge can be found: roverchallenge.eu

Source: Prowly

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