Abstract: In a method for advanced identification of a customer, a customer may remotely place an order, intending to later go to a store to pick up the ordered item. The store may have a pick-up area (e.g., at the back of the store) where the customer can go to pick up the ordered item. To save the customer time, the customer may be identified when she enters the store so that an employee can obtain her ordered item and have it ready to pick up by the time the customer walks through the store and arrives at the pick-up area.

Abstract: A process for producing medium-chain-length 3-hydroxyalkanoic acids in a liquid medium, the process comprising: (i) intermixing a liquid culture medium and a microbial inoculum comprising a pure culture of a Pseudomonas putida strain having a portion of a phaC1 gene deleted and/or a portion of a phaC2 gene deleted and/or a portion of a phaZ gene deleted, (ii) culturing the mixture for a period of time to allow for microbial cell growth to occur in the liquid culture medium thereby producing a spent liquid medium and a plurality of microbial cells wherein medium-chain-length 3-hydroxyalkanoic acids are synthesized, (iii) separating the medium-chain-length 3-hydroxyalkanoic acids from the plurality of microbial cells and the spent liquid medium; and (iv) recovering the separated medium-chain-length 3-hydroxyalkanoic acids. A pure culture comprising transgenic microbial cells wherein a portion of a phaC1 gene and/or a phaC2 gene and/or a phaZ gene has been deleted.

Abstract: A method and system for continuously monitoring a constellation of Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites from space is disclosed. The system utilizes a plurality of GPS receivers respectivelyinstalled on-board the GPS satellites. The on-board GPS receivers receive the navigation signals transmitted by its host GPS satellite in addition to the navigation signals from all of the GPS satellites in view. The system further utilizes a Kalman filter which can also be installed on-board one or more of the GPS satellites in space to achieve further isolation from the master control station. The method comprises the steps of providing a plurality of GPS receivers on-board the GPS satellites and substantially continuously receiving at the GPS receivers navigation signals from the GPS satellites in view of the GPS receivers, and continuously determining a range from the navigation signal of each GPS satellite in view of the GPS receivers.