A lockable equipment rack for a backpack blower is presented. A lockable equipment rack includes adjustable components configured to storage of a variety of backpack blowers. The equipment rack can be installed in a variety of locations, for example a trailer, and securely store the backpack blower. The lockable equipment rack prevents theft of the backpack blower and tampering of its components.

An apparatus for depositing a particulate material onto mushroom compost has a distributor box configured to receive the particulate material, such as mushroom casing, and a moving belt that is fed from a roller into the bottom of the box and exits from a discharge opening of the distributor box. A net pulley roller associated with the moving belt is pulled to advance the moving belt. A ribbed roller mounted for rotation at or near the discharge opening of the distributor box scrapes the particulate material out of the distributor box and deposits the particulate material onto the top surface of the moving belt. The particulate material then rides on the top surface of the moving belt until it drops off the belt onto the mushroom compost at the belt reversal point.

A gate apparatus includes: an exit gate door; a first biometrics information acquisition unit that acquires, from a user who moves toward the exit gate door in a closed state, first target biometrics information to be compared with registered biometrics information registered in advance; a second biometrics information acquisition unit that acquires second target biometrics information to be compared with the registered biometrics information from the use who stops in front of the exit gate door when there is no matching in a comparison between the first target biometrics information and the registered biometrics information or the comparison is unable to be performed; and a door control unit that opens the closed exit gate door in accordance with a result of a comparison between the first target biometrics information or the second target biometrics information and the registered biometrics information.

A gate apparatus includes: an exit gate door; a first biometrics information acquisition unit that acquires, from a user who moves toward the exit gate door in a closed state, first target biometrics information to be compared with registered biometrics information registered in advance; a second biometrics information acquisition unit that acquires second target biometrics information to be compared with the registered biometrics information from the use who stops in front of the exit gate door when there is no matching in a comparison between the first target biometrics information and the registered biometrics information or the comparison is unable to be performed; and a door control unit that opens the closed exit gate door in accordance with a result of a comparison between the first target biometrics information or the second target biometrics information and the registered biometrics information.

A method of forming fungal materials and fungal objects from those fungal materials, the method comprising the steps of growing a first fungal tissue in contact with a nutritive vehicle; supplying a porous material in contact with said first fungal tissue; directing growth of said fungal tissue through said porous material such that a portion of said fungal tissue comprises a first fungal material having first fungal hyphae; optionally incorporating composite material; directing a change in the composition or growth pattern of at least some of said first fungal hyphae; separating at least a portion of the first fungal material from said nutritive vehicle; obtaining a second fungal material having second fungal hyphae; and forming a fungal object by encouraging fused growth between said first fungal material and said second fungal material and optionally incorporating composite material.

A method of forming fungal materials and fungal objects from those fungal materials, the method comprising the steps of growing a first fungal tissue in contact with a nutritive vehicle; supplying a porous material in contact with said first fungal tissue; directing growth of said fungal tissue through said porous material such that a portion of said fungal tissue comprises a first fungal material having first fungal hyphae; optionally incorporating composite material; directing a change in the composition or growth pattern of at least some of said first fungal hyphae; separating at least a portion of the first fungal material from said nutritive vehicle; obtaining a second fungal material having second fungal hyphae; and forming a fungal object by encouraging fused growth between said first fungal material and said second fungal material and optionally incorporating composite material.

A monokaryotic mycelium sheet producing system for creating a sheet of monokaryotic mycelial material. The mycelium sheet producing system includes a culture unit, a spore stock unit, a plating unit, a section unit, a sub-plating unit, an expanding unit and a colonization unit. The culture unit prepares a monokaryon culture. The spore stock unit grows a plurality of fruit bodies in sterile laboratory conditions to create a spore stock. The plating unit performs a peroxide-based spore rescue and a plating process. The section unit is adaptable to section robust hyphae. The sub-plating unit sub-plates and expands the robust hyphae onto a spawn grain master. The expanding unit subsequently expands the spawn grain master into appropriate production of spawn volume. The colonization unit is adaptable to perform a subsequent colonization of mycelium substrate thereby creating a substantially defect free sheet of mycelium.

A mycelium growth bed for optimal production of pure mycelium or a pure mycelium composite with controlled or predictable properties, the bed comprising a tray, a conveying platform, a permeable membrane, a substrate, a porous material and a lid. The permeable membrane is positioned on the conveying platform within the tray. The substrate is positioned on the permeable membrane and the porous material is positioned on top of the substrate. The system provides a configuration having a substrate weight to surrounding space volume ratio between 0.5 and 5.0 g/cc, an air volume (surrounding space) to substrate volume between 0.01 and 1.0, and an air volume (surrounding space) to substrate area is between 0.5 and 5 cc/cm, wherein the CO.sub.2 concentration is held above 3%, the relative humidity is held above 40% and the O.sub.2 concentration is held below 20% in steady state conditions to produce leather-like mycelium without fruiting bodies.

A gate apparatus includes: an exit gate door; a first biometrics information acquisition unit that acquires, from a user who moves toward the exit gate door in a closed state, first target biometrics information to be compared with registered biometrics information registered in advance; a second biometrics information acquisition unit that acquires second target biometrics information to be compared with the registered biometrics information from the use who stops in front of the exit gate door when there is no matching in a comparison between the first target biometrics information and the registered biometrics information or the comparison is unable to be performed; and a door control unit that opens the closed exit gate door in accordance with a result of a comparison between the first target biometrics information or the second target biometrics information and the registered biometrics information.

A system, and methods, for preventing fluid infiltration. The fluid infiltration preventing system comprises a horizontal insert foam blocker and a vertical foam blocker. The fluid infiltration preventing system is configured to prevent penetration or infiltration of fluids, such as water, and preferably wind driven water, into an interior region.