Biofilm Formation in Acute and Chronic Infections with Special Emphasis on Common Chronic and Nosocomial Infections

Biofilm is defined as a community of microorganisms that are adhered to living or non-living solid surfaces and embedded in a common, self-made matrix, comprising of exopolysaccharide material. The role of biofilm in chronic diseases deserves special importance as these extracellular polymeric materials developed with quorum sensing support both the primary criteria of infection development namely adhesion and colonisation. Due to their structural and physiological changes, microorganisms present in the biofilm are difficult to treat or eradicate. The presence of a protective layer of extracellular polymers, changes in metabolic activity or a high rate of mutation make them tolerant or resistant to conventional treatment. The persistence of pathogenic microorganisms mostly renders biofilm to be associated with several acute and chronic infections and various nosocomial or healthcare-related infections. Furthermore, cancer development may also result due to biofilm formation. Biofilm may contribute to inflammation. This study deals with molecular aspects of biofilm formation and its role in different disease formations

Indian traffic: identities in question in colonial and postcolonial India

The continual, unpredictable, and often violent "traffic" between identities in colonial and postcolonial India is the focus of Parama Roy's stimulating and original book. Mimicry has been commonly recognized as an important colonial model of bourgeois/elite subject formation, and Roy examines its place in the exchanges between South Asian and British, Hindu and Muslim, female and male, and subaltern and elite actors. Roy draws on a variety of sources - religious texts, novels, travelogues, colonial archival documents, and films - making her book genuinely interdisciplinary. She explores the ways in which questions of originality and impersonation function, not just for "western" or "westernized" subjects, but across a range of identities. For example, Roy considers the Englishman's fascination with "going native," an Irishwoman's assumption of Hindu feminine celibacy, Gandhi's impersonation of femininity, and a Muslim actress's emulation of a Hindu/Indian mother goddess. Familiar works by Richard Burton and Kipling are given fresh treatment, as are topics such as the "muscular Hinduism" of Swami Vivekananda. Indian Traffic demonstrates that questions of originality and impersonation are in the forefront of both the colonial and the nationalist discourses of South Asia and are central to the conceptual identity of South Asian postcolonial theory itself

Review of \u3ci\u3eAn Archive of Taste\u3c/i\u3e, by Lauren Klein

Review of An Archive of Taste, by Lauren Klei

Designing Energy-Efficient Topologies for Wireless Sensor Network: Neural Approach

Preserving energy or battery power of wireless sensor network is of major concern. As such type of network, the sensors are deployed in an ad hoc manner, without any deterministic way. This paper is concerned with applying standard routing protocols into wireless sensor network by using topology modified by neural network which proves to be energy efficient as compared with unmodified topology. Neural network has been proved to be a powerful tool in the distributed environment. Here, to capture the true distributed nature of the Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), neural network's Self-Organizing Feature Map (SOFM) is used