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Actress found
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Fea ures
Monday, November 19, 2012
Studying hypertension in Oman
A
research team from SQU
with local and international
institutions have recently
concluded a longitudinal study in
which they examined hypertension in
Oman through applying a variety of
procedures.
The principal investigator, Professor Mohammed Osman Hassan, of
the Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, says that essential
hypertension (EH) is a common complex disorder that is associated with
both environmental and genetic factors. It is highly heritable and polygenic, caused by the combination of
small changes in the expression of
many genes as well as the interaction
of these genes with different environmental factors. The disease has important public health effects throughout the person’s life all over world.
A recent Nature Online Special article highlighted the problem of high
blood pressure stating that at least
970 million people are affected by
EH worldwide and this is estimated
to increase to 1.56 billion individuals
by 2025. Hypertension is a prevailing
condition that requires health authorities to take precautionary measures to
reduce its prevalence and to prevent
its complications.
Hypertension and metabolic
factors
The research added that hypertension was also found to be commonly
associated with other risk factors like
obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance
and high cholesterol. These risk factors, when they are found together in
a person are collectively called the
“metabolic syndrome”. Given the
strong relationship of metabolic syndrome and EH, it was strongly suggested that EH cannot be studied in
isolation, as a numeric value. This is
the scientific basis of Oman Family
Study (OFS) in which metabolic risk
factors were included in the study of
EH and this will require novel different data collection and statistical approaches.
Over the past 40 years, Oman
has undergone rapid socio-economic
development that resulted in demographic and epidemiological transitions. In the only 2 epidemiological
studies hypertension increased from
27per cent to 33per cent from 1999 to
2002. In Oman Family Study (20012008), the prevalence of hypertension
in the cohort was 23per cent and most
importantly that young subjects who
have pre-hypertension and would develop EH was 31per cent.
Hypertension in fast developing
countries
Professor Hassan carries on: “In
high income countries such as Oman,
which also developed very fast over
last 40 years, the differential pattern
in EH in rural versus urban communities is a key marker of the various
stages of epidemiological transition,
characterised by dramatic socioeconomic changes and accompanied by
parallel changes in the risk status
and pattern of illness within affected
communities.
Genetics of hypertension
Hypertension is a complex disease resulting from very small effects
of many genes as well as gene and
environment interactions. Such interactions can only be studied in large
well defined populations who can be
followed up for long periods of time.
Close family members also tend to
have more homogeneous environmental exposures, living in similar
geographic locations with similar socioeconomic status, and perhaps even
similar health-related habits such as
diet, physical activity and inactivity.
Family study
The most important part of OFS
is the co-operation and the support
of the families who volunteered to
take part, the researcher discloses.
The study included a homogene-
ous population of 6 families with
very large pedigree sizes (160-325
subjects) totalling 1280 volunteers
from inland villages of the Dakhylia
Region. Those families converge towards common descendants of Arab
origin, and the founders date back to
no more than 200 years. Traditionally,
each individual is genealogically well
defined within the family and records
are well maintained by individuals
and their elders. Often fathers, grandfathers and even great grandfathers
are still alive.
The hallmark of OFS research
Framework for teaching pupils with reading disorders
A
team of researchers from
SQU are seeking to establish an optimal framework
for teaching pupils with reading
disorders in Oman. The framework
includes identification of reading
disorders based on a comprehensive
neuropsychological perspective in
addition to setting up a model of best
practices informed by the Response
to Intervention multi-tiered instructional strategy for teaching pupils
with reading disorders in schools. Dr
Mahmoud Emam, the chief investigator, says the study aims to achieve
a set of long-term goals. It seeks to
establish an optimal framework for
teaching pupils with reading disorders in cycle 1 basic education
schools as well as a model of best
practices in the identification and
intervention of reading disorders in
Oman. It also strives to enhance the
quality of school life for such pupils
in Oman. Another goal is to provide
policy makers with empirical data
with regard to this problem in cycle1
basic education schools.
Using a mixed method approach
grounded in positivist and interpretive research paradigms, the project
will involve a national sample of 50
per cent of the student population in
cycle 1 basic education schools, Dr
Emam explains. The project targets
the training of pioneer cohorts of
teachers to radically change the current practices as well as the provision
for pupils with reading disorders in
order to present a model of best prac-
tices which will set up a nationally
optimal framework in this regard.
Reading disorders refer to a
number of difficulties in reading
related-processes which pupils experience due to neurological related
causes, atypical brain functioning as
well as atypical informal processing.
Known as the most common learning disability, they have severe academic, social and emotional consequences on pupils.
methodology is using 24-hour blood
pressure in a home environment.
Other cardiac and hemodynamic parameters that make up blood pressure
were measured. Detailed biochemical
and hormonal parameters were obtained under rigorous quality control
measures.
Initial results
The researcher mentions that the
general prevalence of disease in OFS
up to 2008 were Hypertension 23 per cent,,High Cholesterol 37 per
cent, Diabetes Mellitus 5.5 per cent,
Obesity 3 per cent. Apart from high
cholesterol, these results were considered to be moderate or very low
at that time. Most importantly was
that subjects who are likely to develop hypertension were 31 per cent,
Pre-diabetes 12 per cent, a source of
great concern, and Overweight 13
per cent. Those were the subjects of
most concern and were advised to
undergo strict lifestyle modifications.
Such lifestyle programmes have been
implemented in the Dakhiliyah Governorate for the last ten years by the
Ministry of Health and the WHO.
Another important finding was that
people who are living in high altitude
like Al Jabal al Akhdhar had very low
prevalence of hypertension, ie 2 per
cent, diabetes of 1 per cent, obesity
zero per cent and high cholesterol of
21 per cent. Here we have a live lesson to learn from, Professor Hassan
underlines. “Why does this community which shares the same genetic
background as the others have such a
low prevalence of the same disease?
We think their active lifestyle and diet
are probably the main reasons. We
have an open book to learn from.”
Genetic results
“In 2012 and after 6 years of local
and international collaborations we
have found very important genetic
signals that will definitely help solving the riddle of EH and metabolic
factors in Omanis and other Arabs”,
he stresses.
“As these results belong to the
people who volunteered for the
project we cannot disclose any of
them except at personal and family level. These results are still very
preliminary and we are planning to
visit those families in the near future
to discuss such findings and future
plans especially for young subjects
who will need this most.”
In his concluding remarks, the
scholar said: “With additional funding to refine our study we will be able
to provide better understanding of the
conditions under study and provide
OFS volunteers and the health authorities of Oman on how to provide
better future prevention and interventional measures.”
Uranium and associated
minerals in Oman
A
n SQU team has launched intensive and detailed
geophysical and geochemical surveys to map the
Proterozoic basements in Oman in order to ascertain the exact spatial position of this precious resource. Dr
Sundararajan Narasimman, of the College of Science, says
that uranium is a strategically important mineral having
wider applications in the field of electricity and other industrial sectors. The Proterozoic basement of the Dhofar
Governorate of Oman may be a potential source and trap
for uranium and associated minerals. The reconnaissance
surveys carried out during the late 1970s suggest the possibility of Uranium occurrence in this region.
The emphasis for further detailed investigation lies on
increased radiation levels for which the Neoproterozoic
rocks of southern Oman and some members of the Huqf
Supergroup in Al Wasta region can be considered as the
major hosts for potential Uranium enrichment. An association of evaporates, C-rich shales, and accumulated hydrocarbons, presents a perfect geochemical trap for an initial
concentration of elements such as Uranium, from where
successive redistribution processes may lead to a Uranium
enrichment/mineralisation in a particular strata.
Public school graduates and
their weakness in English
A
new research project is under way to examine
how students are taught English at public schools
and why this teaching is not producing the desired
results. Dr Rahma al Mahrooqi, embarking on the study,
highlights the significance attached by the government of
Oman to English in the education of Omani youth and their
preparation for a multinational, multicultural world of employment and socialisation. This is evident in the resources
being in place for supporting English language teaching
and learning in schools, colleges and universities.
She remarks that this major investment, involving qualified manpower, free textbooks, computer laboratories and
classroom aids, has not yielded commensurate results.
School students continue to graduate with inadequate
English language proficiency to the extent that a majority,
before studying at the tertiary level, require remedial or intensive English courses in a “foundation” year.
Yet, even with the aid of “foundation English”, which
might extend to two years at SQU, the Colleges of Higher
Technology and the Colleges of Applied Science, students’
competence in English remains inadequate for success in
their majors. Although there has been speculation about the
causes of this weakness, no comprehensive investigative
study has ever been undertaken in Oman.
Probing Mesozoic sedimentary succession of Jeza-Qamar Basin
S
QU scientists have investigated the mesozoic sedimentary evolution of Jeza-Qamar
(Dhofar) Basin and implications for exploration potential of an overlooked hydrocarbon
system.
The Jeza-Qamar Basin lies across the OmanYemen border. Its eastern limit is defined by the
Marbat High whereas the Fartaq High forms its
western margin. The study was focused on the
Omani side of the basin (Dhofar Basin) and had
both short- and long-term goals. The short-term
goals included studying the Mesozoic stratigraphic
framework of the Dhofar Basin and understanding
and documenting the sedimentology, diagenesis
and depositional environments of the three most
hydrocarbon-promising formations of the basin
(ie, Qishn, Kharfot and Dhalkout).
The work was also aimed at identifying the hydrocarbon potential of the study area and its Cretaceous sequence, evaluating the lateral and vertical
extensions of the petroleum elements (eg, potential reservoirs and source rocks) and correlating
equivalent strata of southeast Yemen and other
regions of Oman (eg, Huqf and hydrocarbon-producing strata of the interior Oman). The ultimate
goal consists in providing accurate data about the
sedimentary succession in the Afro-Arab region.
Methods
The chief researcher Dr Osman Salad Hersi,
of the Earth Sciences Department, said the methodology used to unravel the geologic evolution
of the Cretaceous sequence in the study area was
the classical one of field data collection, laboratory analysis and data integration and interpretation with the help of computer software. Fifty-four
sections were studied during the field work. The
field study included section logging, measuring, sampling, photographing and sketching. Collected samples were useful for petrographic, biostratigraphic, geochemical
and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analyses. Laboratory techniques include thin
section preparation, petrographic study
by using petrographic microscopes,
Scanning Electronic Microscope, X-Ray
Diffractometer, normal scanners and Fluid
Inclusion Analysis.
Results
The researcher added: the oldest Mesozoic
strata in the Omani side of the Jeza-Qamar Basin
are represented by the Early Cretaceous (Barremian-Aptian) Qishn Formation. Older Jurassic
rocks are reported to occur in the subsurface of
the Yemeni side of the basin but no outcrops are
Potential reservoir rocks
Dr Hersi further said that rocks that contain
high pore content with good pore-interconnectivity are present in various stratigraphic horizons of
the studied sections. These horizons occur in the
lower (Shabon) and upper (Hasheer) members of
the Qishn Formation, relatively thin horizons in the
Umbaraaf and Khadrafi members of the Dhalkout
Formation and a good deal of the Sarfait Member
of the Dhalkout Formation the Cretaceous strata
of Dhofar contain thick intervals with good to
excellent pore content. The permeability is also
expected to be fair to good due to good pore
interconnection.
The sandstones of the Shabon Member are
equivalent to the Qishn Clastics Member of
the Qishn Formation in Yemen. These clastics
are the main reservoirs of hydrocarbon with permeability as high as 10 Darcies. The permeability
expected from the Shabon Member of the Qishn
Formation in Dhofar is most likely in the same
range as the permeability of the sandstones in the
Yemeni side of the border. The carbonate horizons
is due to the
fact that with reservoir potential may have a permeability
most source rocks in Yemen are associated with not exceeding few hundred millidarcies.
Potential source rocks
Jurassic strata that charged Cretaceous reservoirs,
There are no proven source rocks so far in the
including the Qishn Formation.
so far recognised in both Oman and Yemeni sides
of the basin. Moreover, Triassic and Jurassic strata
occur in the Socotra Island of Yemen; an island interpreted to be attached to southern Dhofar before
the opening of the Gulf of Aden. Thus, the possibility of having pre-Cretaceous strata in the JezaQamar Basin is indeed high and attractive. This
study area. However, some horizons with oily
odour do occur in the upper part of the Qishn,
Kharfot and Dhalkout formations (particularly in
the western region of the study area). A dozen of
samples were collected for Total Organic Carbon
analysis and offered a mediocre result. Previous
work has hinted presence of source rocks in various stratigraphic intervals that span from InfraCambrian through Jurassic rocks to Cretaceous
strata. Furthermore, Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks
in the Yemeni side of the basin contain appreciable intervals of rock formations that are known
to have generated oil in the adjacent Say’un-AlMasila basin of Yemen. In summary, potential
source rocks are most likely present in the basin
but further investigation and tests are required and
recommended.
In his concluding remarks, the researcher said
the hydrocarbon potential of the studied succession
is quite promising. There are good reservoirs in the
two formations of Qishn and Dhalkout. Potential
source rocks occur in the Kharfot and Dhalkout
formations and both structural and stratigraphic
traps are recognised. A recent gas discovery in the
Yemeni side of the basin underscores existence of
a matured hydrocarbon system and, therefore, a
serious exploration activity is high recommended.