New techniques in
producing
petrochemicals
A study determines the cause of glaucoma in Omanis
Some genes and variants are
responsible for the disease
Investigating Chromium
Pollution of Fresh Water
A
n SQU research team is
carrying out a research
project aimed to develop
a way of producing polymeric
materials with tailored
properties and controlled
amount of polar monomers by
coordinating polymerisation.
Producing polyolefinic
materials is a challenging goal
for both local and international
industry. The properties
of these petrochemicals
entirely depend on the
types of sterocenters on the
polymer backbone and their
regularities. Thus, there is an
enormous demand to develop
a synthetic methodology to
control the microstructure of
the polymer by using tacticity
as a technique or incorporating
comonomers such as
acrylates. Developing such
a methodology will help tailor
the properties of some critical
materials, in terms of glass
transition, melting and heat
deformation temperature along
with other chemical features.
These have considerable
impact on the industrial
applicability of the materials.
The findings are expected to
have effective applications
and positive economic
contributions to Omani
industry, like oil refineries and
other petrochemical areas.
Hopefully, the project will
attract external funds from both
local and international industry,
such as Shell.
Soft-coral and
sea-cucumber
identification
15 AUGUST 2013
A
n SQU scholar is
embarking on a study
to evaluate the potential
of automated image analysis
of skeletal sclerites, the
plates forming the skeleton,
for the purpose of species
identification. Several species
of sea cucumbers and soft
corals will be identified using
traditional methods and
using a combination of fluid
particle image acquisition
(hardware) and particle shape
analysis (software). This
could provide the basis for
an expert system designed
to identify these groups of
organisms and facilitate the
work of taxonomists but also of
environmental managers and
environmental assessors.
Dr. Michel R. Claereboudt,
of the College of Agricultural
and Marine Sciences, points
out that, in several groups of
marine invertebrates, individual species are notoriously
difficult to identify because
their taxonomy is based on the
morphology, size and relative
abundances of minute skeletal
sclerites. In particular, he
adds, the Holothuroidea (Sea
Cucumbers) and in Alcyonaria
(Soft Corals), abundant in the
coastal waters of Oman form
an important part of the benthic
communities and belong to this
category.
A
A
new
study
has
been
conducted
to
determine
the
molecular cause of three
primary glaucoma subtypes.
Glaucoma,
a
progressive
optic
neurodegenerative
disease, is the second cause
of
irreversible
blindness.
In most cases it results in
chronic deterioration of the
optic nerve (ON). The cause
of degeneration is not well
understood but it is usually
associated with increased
intraocular pressure (IOP). ON
damage can occur over years
and a patient may not notice
visual loss until more than
40% of the peripheral sight is
impaired causing tunnel vision.
Dr. Nadia Al Kharousi, of
the College of Medicine and
Health Sciences, SQU, investigated the genetic and clinical characteristics of primary
glaucoma cases in the Omani
population. The glaucoma
groups included primary congenital glaucoma (PCG), observed from infancy to 5 years
of age, juvenile open angle
glaucoma (JOAG) manifesting
from 5-35 years old patients
and adult onset primary open
angle glaucoma (AO-POAG)
that was observed passed the
ages of 35 years.
variants in 3,979 genes were
identified. Initial results identified some of the genes and
variants that might be responsible for the Omani glaucoma
pathophysiology. She hoped
that, upon the completion of
the work, a large spectrum of
the involved Omani glaucomatous genes could be found.
Dr. Nadia Al Kharousi stressed
the importance of identifying
the involved genes, given that
glaucoma is an asymptomatic
disorder resulting in irreversible blindness with affected
individuals not recognizing
sight impairment until more
than 40% of peripheral vision
is lost. In order to preserve and
maintain sight for glaucoma affected individuals, she advised
that treatment need to be initi-
ated during the earlier stages
of ON damage and at-risk individuals must be recognized.
Ultimately, the aim of identifying additionally implicated
gene ranges, pathways and
interactions is hoped to be
achieved, she pointed out.
In her concluding remarks, the
researcher underlined that such
investigations in conjunction
with functional related studies would enhance the genetic
knowledge of this disease in
Oman, which would assist in
composing more suited diagnostic protocol, providing therapeutic strategies and enhancing
treatment procedures, thereby
allowing for a better prognostic
outcome of the disease including a significant impact on gene
therapy prospects.
research work has been launched at the College
of Engineering, SQU, to investigate the relationship
between secondary chromite deposits and the pollution of fresh water in Oman. The study is only a seed
project for a largescale
follow-up
research.
Being
in its initial form,
the attempt is designed to identify
primary chromiterich zones within
the ophiolite sequence of Oman
that act as source
area for potential
secondary
sedimentary
placer
deposits in adjacent wadis. It will
also seek to locate
and examine such
placer deposits, being possible targets for future exploration and industrial exploitation. For this purpose, HD
Satellite imaging will be used and geological and geomorphological mapping will be in place to explore any
possible primary chromite deposits. Water samples will
be analyzed for potential chromium pollution. The ultimate goal is to identify local processes, often microbial,
that lead to a chromium pollution of drinking waters. Previous work has detected this problem in the Batinah region of Oman. It is expected that the research will look
into ways and means to develop concepts which would
remediate polluted waters.
Identification of camel
meat quality parameters
T
he demand for camel
meat appears to be increasing due to health
reasons, as they produce
meat with relatively less fat
than other animals. However, camel meat has been
associated with low quality
attributes because it comes
mostly from old camels,
which were primarily kept
for racing, milk and transportation rather than meat.
Proteomic technology is a
powerful tool to identify proteins that reflect the important mechanisms and contributions to development of
a satisfactory meat quality.
Dr. Issam Kadhum, of the
College of Agricultural
and Marine Sciences, is
embarking on a research
project aimed at analyzing the proteome of camel
muscle tissue collected
immediately after slaughter, and search for individual proteins that correlate
with meat tenderness and
juiciness. This will involve
developing an optimized
protocol for camel meat
protein extraction that provides sufficient amounts
of relatively pure proteins.
She said that eight families had
been recruited for the purpose
of the study. Exome capture
sequencing was used to identify changes within the genes.
This technology is amongst
the cutting edge technologies and allows for the interrogation of the whole human
genome areas, codes for proteins, thereby allowing for the
deep analysis of any mutations in the 20,000 genes that
constitute the human genome
(Next generation sequencing,
Illumina platform). These variations were analyzed and relevant variants were selected for
validation on all corresponding family members using
the standard sequencing approach (Sanger platform).
The researcher added that,
from the eight families, 26
members had exome sequencing performed. This generated an average of 10.612
Gb of sequencing data covering the entire exome 107 times
per member. A total of 5,659
58
The researcher argues that
identification of such proteins could help predict the
tenderness and juiciness of
camel meat at a time that
decisions in the slaughterhouse can be made, i.e.
during the time period between killing of the animal
and chilling of the carcass.
A more general aim is the
assessment of proteomics
as a method for the identification of marker proteins
that can predict meat quality. A combination of two-dimensional electrophoresis
and mass spectrometry will
be used to study metabolic
alterations of various proteins in one-humped camel
six muscles.