Machine-readable automatic identification (ID) systems, including bar codes, magnetic stripes, optical character recognition and radiofrequency labeling, have improved productivity and quality in diverse industries. Bar codes represent the oldest and most common of these machine-readable ID systems, and are widely used in industrial manufacturing, shipping and inventory tracking operations. Pri...

The success of fast food chains is used by Ritzer as a metaphor for some general trends characterizing contemporary American society.We have become a nation driven by concerns for rationality, speed, and efficiency that are so well illustrated by the McDonalds’ style of operation. Food, packaging, and service are designed to move quickly and cheaply through and out of these restaurants, giving ...

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an emerging tool for investigating the molecular pathways that underpin several human neurodegenerative disorders associated with protein misfolding. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating adult onset neurodegenerative disease primarily affecting motor neurons. The protein TDP-43 has recently been demonstrated to play an important role...

Background The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is elevated in alcoholic patients, but the risk factors are unclear. The role of parenteral risk factors are indeterminated in this population. Aims To determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in alcoholic patients admitted to a detoxifi cation unit and to evaluate the presence of underlying parenteral risk factors. M...

differentiation The process by which planets and satellites develop layers or zones of different chemical and mineralogical composition. flyby Term used to describe the close approach of a spacecraft to a body, without the spacecraft going into orbit around that body. Galilean satellites The four largest satellites of Jupiter (Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto), named after their discoverer Galile...