The Journey of Learning
Panorama
From ‘Toxinome’ to ‘Pharmacome’
Mind Over Matter
SQU Council Approves New Courses
News Update
Inhibitors of ‘Bacterial
Language’
Department of Public
Relations and Information
Sultan Qaboos University
Issue 206
View Point
Proficiency in English
Now SQU is home to IELTS examination facility. Thanks to the partnership between
the university’s Language Centre and the British Council. Since the year 1989, IELTS
test was introduced to assess individuals to see if they are ready to train in the medium of English language. It is now used for this purpose around the world.
Khamis Rajab Al Busaidi
Editorial Supervision
Humaid Al Adwani
Editor -in-chief
M.K. Santhosh
Senior Editor
Younis Al Harrasi
Editor & Translator
Ahlam Al Wahaibi
Design & Layout
Rashad Al Wahaibi
& Photography Dept., CET
Depending in the course of study that students plan to take, the Academic IELTS
test is necessary for students who plan to study at university or work, and will test
the individuals ability both to understand and to use complex academic language.
Institutions required general training IELTS test, such as colleges and high schools,
for courses that require less complex language skills, and is also as a general test
of English proficiency for immigration purposes in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The establishment of the test centre is in line with the commitment of the university to its staff, students and the wider community. The launch of the centre was
prompted by the growing need within the university for a standardized test to be
taken by staff who qualify for scholarships abroad. Besides, IELTS score is mandatory
for prospective English Education graduates of the College of Education and candidates seeking admission to masters and doctoral programs in the university.
Language experts claim that proper listening and alertness is the key to pass the
IELTS, in order to understand what the audio is talking about. You should be alert
in listening, and concentrate on every word the audio speaks. And write it down. It
is advisable to watch British movies so that you can be familiar with their accents.
Practice on speaking, while on your on going preparation for the test.
The first administration of IELTS test at SQU will take place on February 17. Horizon
wishes all candidates for this test and prospective candidates to line up for IELTS in
future to remember the secrets on passing this test. Make sure you are using your
common sense when taking the IELTS test. This is the shortcut to success in IELTS!
Photography
Horizon invites contributions from SQU members of staff and faculty. Contributions in the form of articles, news, travelogues, stories of unique and interesting experiences, encounters, etc., are welcome. Contributions may be edited
for the sake of clarity and length. Please send your contributions to horizon@squ.edu.om preferably, as MSWord attachments. Authors will be suitably credited.
Horizon is published three times a month by the Department of Public Relations and Information,
Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50, P.C. 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Phone: +968 24141045
E-mail: horizon@squ.edu.om
20 January 2011
P2
Fax: +968 24413 391
Website: www.squ.edu.om
News Update
IELTS Test Centre Opens at SQU
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examination
centre launched at the Language Centre of Sultan Qaboos University was
formally inaugurated by Dr. Said bin Ali Al Yahyaee, SQU Deputy Vice
Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Community Service. The test centre,
attached to the British Council Oman, is an instance of the ongoing partnership between the Council and SQU.
Speaking on the occasion, Rashid Al Maamari, Administrator of the IELTS
examination centre at SQU said that establishment of the test centre is in
line with the commitment of the university to its staff, students and the
wider community. The establishment of the centre was prompted by the
growing need within the university for a standardized test to be taken by
staff who qualify for scholarships abroad. Besides, IELTS score is mandatory for prospective English Education graduates of the College of Education and candidates seeking admission to masters and doctoral programs
in the university.
Elaborating on the test centre, Dr. Rashid Al Maamari said that they expect administering the test twice in every three months. The test will be
offered at on-campus venues under exam conditions consistent with the
strict standards of IELTS at a reduced rate for students and staff members.
He also said that the test will be invigilated and marked by certified invigilators, clerical markers and examiners. The centre will function as a
closed examination centre and test will be offered to students and staff
affiliated with the university. The first test will be administered on February 17.
IELTS is the world’s proven English test. Over 1.4 million candidates take
the test each year to start their journeys into international education and
employment. IELTS is recognised by more than 6000 institutions in over
135 countries.
SQU Council Approves New Courses
The second meeting of the Sultan Qaboos University Council for the
academic year 2010-2011 was held on January 10 under the chair of
HE Dr. Ali bin Saud al Bimani, Vice Chancellor of the university and
vice-chair of the council. The council approved the minutes of the first
meeting held on 25 October 2010 and reviewed the follow up report of
the previous meeting’s decisions.
Considering the importance of the discipline of Environmental Engineering, the council approved new masters degree program in this field
to be offered by the College of Engineering starting from the academic
year 2011-2012. It also approved a PhD program in philosophy to be
offered by the Department of Arabic Language and Literature in the
College of Arts and Social Sciences.
The council approved the proposal to establish a Self Learning Centre
at the university which will provide guidance to the students to hone
their skills and talents in language learning, Information Technology
and basic mathematics, and education. The council approved higher
studies scholarship proposals of 47 employees including academics
and medical doctors.
The council decided to redesignate the PhD program offered by the
College of Medicine & Health Sciences from Epidemiology & Medical
Statistics to Epidemiology & General Health. In line with the specifications of Oman Medical Speciality Board, the Council renamed the
Departments of Accident & Emergency in the College of Medicine &
Health Sciences and SQU Hospital as the Departments of Emergency
Medicine.
Web Presence Important for Universities: Expert
thrive for a good position in the global ranking chart of academic institutions. If
the web performance of an institution is below the expected position according to their academic excellence, university authorities should reconsider their
web policy, promoting substantial increases of the volume and quality of their
electronic publications.
He added that web has become the main scholarly communication tool
among higher educational institutions in the world as it is the best instance
of Open Access Initiative (OAI) by any organization. “Web presence increases visibility and impact of institutions’ activities and in the near future
web indicators will be an important part of the evaluation procedures and
world rankings. Web Search engines are the new knowledge intermediaries and web positioning is becoming more and more relevant”.The speaker
encouraged the academic community to depend on the internet in getting
their works published.
Prof. Sadiq M. Sait, Director, Information Technology at King Fahd University of
Petroleum & Minerals in Saud Arabia recently delivered a talk to the administration and faculty of Sultan Qaboos University on the topic “King Fahd University
of Petroleum & Minerals in World Rankings: A Case Study and Ranking and Open
Access Initiative at SQU”. In his talk, Prof. Sadiq said that web presence that reflect
the activities of an institution is vital for any higher educational institution that
The presentation was attended by HE Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, SQU Vice
Chancellor, HH Sayyida Dr. Mona bint Fahd Al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor for External Cooperation, Deans and Assistant Deans of colleges, Directors of the research and the support centers and senior academicians.
20 January 2011 P3
Insight
Inhibitors of ‘Bacterial
Language’
Bacteria can communicate among one another using chemical signal molecules.
The information supplied by these molecules is critical for synchronizing the
activities of large groups of cells. In bacteria, chemical communication involves
production, release, detection, and response to small chemical molecules. This
decision making process, called quorum sensing, allows bacteria to monitor the
environment for other bacteria and to alter behaviour on a population-wide
scale in response to environmental changes. In other words, quorum sensing
bacteria (one-cellular organism) can act like multi-cellular organisms.
The discovery that bacteria are able to communicate with each other changed
our general perception about this simple organisms. Investigation of “bacterial
language” allows investigators discover that bacteria use chemical signals instead
of “words”. Concentration of these signals in the environment increases with increase of bacterial density. The bacteria are able to measure the concentration
of these signals and once it reaches a certain level, the bacteria launch different
programs that alter their behaviour, such as adhesion and production of certain
compounds. Different bacteria are using different chemical signals. As they employ different “languages” they cannot necessarily talk to all other bacteria.
First quorum sensing bacteria have been discovered only two decades ago. Scientists have found that a symbiotic bacterium living inside a deep sea Hawaiian
squid produce light. Squid light organ cells promote the growth of the symbionts
and actively reject any other competitors. Bacteria produce light only when they
are present at high density. At this stage bacterial symbionts produce chemical signals that are responsible for light production. Later, scientists discovered
other bacteria use chemical signals for their communication as well. Common
plants, such as alpha-alpha and pea, “cultivate” nitrogen fixating bacteria in their
roots that utilize quorum sensing signals. Most of pathogens use quorum sensing in order to successfully control their behaviour and bypass the immune response of the host. Scientists have found that more than 50% of known bacteria
use quorum sensing signals to alter their behaviour.
Nowadays, most of the bacteria that cause infections are resistant to at least one
of the drugs commonly used for their treatment. Few bacteria are resistant to all
antibiotics and their infections cannot be treated by any drugs. An increase in
resistance of common bacteria causes severe infections and high mortality from
some common diseases, like pneumonia. Antibiotic resistance of bacteria is due
to the mechanism in which antibiotics work. All current antibiotics aim to kill
specific groups of bacteria. These forces bacteria to mutate and the few that are
resistant to antibiotics are going to survive and multiply.
Recent quorum sensing investigations demonstrated that some bacteria, plants
and animals are capable of production of compounds that can disrupt the bacteria’s ability to communicate and thereby disable bacterial growth and ability to
become pathogenic. Organisms are using this quorum sensing inhibitors in order to prevent bacterial infections. Quorum sensing inhibitors are having certain
advantages in treatment of bacterial infections. First, they suppress the growth
20 January 2011
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By: Dr. S. Dobretsov
Marine Science and Fisheries Department
CAMS, SQU
of pathogens and production of their toxins, thus giving the body an extra time
to eradicate these bacteria through the natural immune defence. Second, since
these inhibitors are not killing the bacteria they also do not force them to mutate
and resistant strains will be unlikely to occur.
The author of this article has been investigating bacterial quorum sensing for
several years. He has demonstrated that many marine invertebrates and microorganisms in Oman are capable of production of inhibitors of this “bacterial language”. Recently, he studied together with Dr. Raeid M. M. Abed from the Biology
Department of SQU’s College of Science, cyanobacterial mats from Oman hot
springs. According to the researchers, microorganisms inhabiting these mats
produce quorum sensing inhibitors under natural conditions. Among four investigated springs (Hammam, Bowshar, Nakhl and Rustaq) the mats from the
Nakhl were the most active. In comparison with other springs, Nakhl mats had
the lowest microbial diversity. This is an important discovery suggesting that cyanobacterial mats are good sources of novel quorum sensing inhibitors. Samiha
Al Kharusi, an MSc student of Biology department, has been investigating microbial diversity and bioactivity of microorganisms living in extremely saline pools
of Wadi Maqshan in south-eastern Oman in Al Wuusta province under the supervision of Drs. Abed and Dobretsov. This investigation revealed that most of
microbial isolates produce different quorum sensing inhibitors. SQU researchers
are planning to isolate these bioactive compounds and further investigate their
potential in the future.
The author of this article was the first one who isolated a quorum sensing inhibitor from a cyanobacterium. This compound was identified as malyngolide
with a help of scientists from Fort Pierce Smithsonian Research Station located in
Florida, USA. The “alga-like” cyanobacterium Lyngbia majuscula produce malyngolide at the concentrations sufficient to prevent growth of other bacteria on its
surface. Malyngolide has the capacity to inhibit the growth of dangerous human
pathogens by interfering with their quorum sensing. It is interesting that at a
high concentration malyngolide works as an antibiotic. It is a known phenomenon and according to my study, about 20% of antibiotics are inhibiting “bacterial
language” at extremely low nano- and milli- molar concentrations.
The study done by SQU team highlights the high biotechnological potential of
microorganisms inhabiting the Sultanate and suggests that their quorum sensing inhibitors can be used for as new drugs to control antibiotic resistant infections in the future.
From ‘Toxinome’ to
‘Pharmacome’
Mind Over Matter
and expertise has focused on one or more of the following objectives: (A)
to establish the mode and mechanism of action of the toxins; (B) to discover ways and means to neutralize the toxicity and adverse effects of snake
bites; (C) to develop specific research tools that are useful in understanding normal physiological processes at both cellular and molecular levels;
and (D) to develop prototypes or leads of pharmaceutical agents based on
the structure of toxins. Imperative lessons can be learnt, particularly from
the latter two objectives, as to how simple molecular templates have been
used in nature to design a wide arsenal of proteins that exhibit diverse
(toxic) functions.
Till date, a large number of protein toxins has been isolated and characterized from snake venoms. Numerous early efforts were directed towards
the isolation and characterization of either proteins that are found in abundance or the most toxic components of the venom. The advent of more sophisticated purification techniques has resulted in the delineation of activity for proteins present in smaller quantities in venoms. The protein toxins
present in single venom, although might number well over 100; belong to
small number of protein super-families. Some of the well-studied families
of venom proteins are: (a) three-finger toxin family; (b) proteinase inhibitor
family; (c) lectin family; (d) phospholipase A2 (PLA2) family; (e) serine proteinase family; and (f ) metalloproteinase family. The members in a single
family show remarkable similarities in their primary, secondary and tertiary
structures. At times, however, they differ from each other in their biological
targeting and, hence, their pharmacological effects. That is, each family of
protein toxins has a similar molecular scaffold but exhibits multiple functions. Thus, structure–function relationships and the mechanisms of action
of snake venom proteins are intriguing and pose exciting challenges to scientists.
By: Dr. Yajnavalka Banerjee
Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry
College of Medicine & Health Sciences
Snakes, particularly the venomous ones, have always been creatures of the myth.
For example in Egyptian history, the snake plays an important role, with the Nile
cobra adorning the crown of the pharaoh in ancient times. Similarly, in Greek mythology, snakes are often associated with deadly and dangerous antagonists. The
nine headed Hydra Hercules defeated and the three Gorgon sisters are literary
examples. Interestingly, two medical symbols involving snakes are still used today
– “Bowl of Hygieia”, symbolizing pharmacy, and the “Caduceus and Rod of Asclepius”, which are symbols denoting medicine in general. Present day Hollywood
movie captions like “It will take your breath away” (on the poster of the movie Anaconda) and “Sit back. Relax. Enjoy the fright” (on the poster of the movie Snakes
on a Plane), still heighten our fear and curiosity about these wonderful creatures.
But some of us rather than giving snakes of all descriptions a wide berth, seek
them out. They are as you might have rightly guessed, snake charmers and snake
venom researchers. While charming of snakes is outside the scopes of the expertise of the author of this article, the study of venom is one of his primary research
passions.
So, “What is snake venom?” Broadly speaking, snake venom is modified saliva
that contains a complex mixture of pharmacologically active polypeptides and
proteins. The primary function of the venom is to alter biological function in the
prey in a way to immobilize the prey, which is injected into its body during the
bite. There are about 3200 species of snakes. Approximately 1300 species are venomous. Venomous snakes differ from their non-venomous cousins by possessing
venom glands and specialized venom-conducting fangs, which enable then to
inflict serious bites upon their victims. In general there are five families of venomous snakes recognized: the Colubridae, which possess small rear fangs; the
front-fanged Elapidae and Hydrophidae; and the viper group, which consists of
the Viperdae and Crotalidae.
As mentioned above, snake venoms are assorted mixtures of pharmacologically
active proteins and polypeptides. A number of these proteins demonstrate lethal
and debilitating effects as a consequence of neurotoxic, cardiotoxic and tissue
necrotizing property, whereas others induce various pharmacological effects, but
are of a lower order of toxicity. All these protein toxins injected during envenomation mediate simultaneous assault on diverse physiological processes at specific
sites. The study of snake venoms and toxins by scientists with varied backgrounds
A number of proteins isolated from snake venoms have been exploited in
the design of drugs or have been employed for understanding the functioning of a particular physiological process. Case in point, the high specificity of neurotoxins for nAChRs (nicotinic acetylcholine receptors) has been
utilized as a tool in understanding the structure and function of the nervous system. Of all these, alpha-neurotoxins in particular have been crucial
for the isolation and characterization of the nAChR at the motor end plate.
The other group of venom proteins with essential pharmacological function is the disintegrin family. These proteins are potent modulators of platelet function. Similarly, Captopril the first venom-based drug discovered in
1975 from Bothrops Jaracusa (Brazilian arrowhead viper venom) by Nobel
Prize winner Sir John Vane and later commercialized by pharmaceutical giant Squibb, is an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and therefore
a potent anti-hypertensive agent. In recent times, snake venom proteins
have also exhibited in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activities such as contortrostatin from Agkistrodon contortix contortix (American copperhead);
and antimicrobial activity such as Crotacetin from Crotalus durissus terrificus. The structure-function relationships of these proteins are currently under careful investigation, and will probably be used for the development of
therapeutic leads in the near future. In summary, snake venoms specifically
the ones isolated from new or less investigated species of snake provides
the scientific community with “unopened treasure chest of potential therapeutic leads”.
Currently, at SQU, along with a team of researchers, the author of this article
is investigating into the pharmacological properties of venoms belonging
to snakes native to Oman, using both proteomic and transcriptomic techniques. This, he believes, will not only benefit the scientific community in
terms drug-lead discovery but will also help the Omani people in terms of
development of novel and better suited anti-venom strategies. The latter is
pivotally important since in a recent publication in PloS Medicine where an
epidemiological estimate of envenoming and death was carried out globally
across 164 countries, it was reported for Oman that incidence of envenoming per 100,000 population is 47.2390; in a total population of 2595133. In
comparison, India with a total population of 1169015509 has an incidence
envenoming per 100,000 of 17.1000. These figures are also supported by
the reports published from the Ministry of Health in Oman. As highlighted
above, in order to investigate into the pharmacological properties of the
venom, the SQU research team will be using a two-pronged strategy, probing the toxinome of these snakes using both protein chemistry and molecular biology tools. In summary, it’s a research into the pharmacome of
the toxinome of these wonderful but intriguing creatures.
20 January 2011
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News Round Up
SQU Student Bags Award at
Regional Contest
Preparations Completed for
Gulf Sports Meet
Sultan Qaboos University will host the 7th Gulf Sports Championship for universities and Higher Education Institutions in the GCC
countries from January 20 to 27. This event is organized once in two
years under the umbrella of the GCC General Secretariat. The venue
is alternating between the universities and higher education institutions in the GCC States. Addressing a press conference at the university, HE Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, SQU Vice Chancellor, said
that this time SQU has been privileged to host the championship in
which 21 universities and higher educational institutions from the
GCC countries would take part.
The Championship Organizing Committee said that the preparations
for hosting the tournament have been completed. Dr. Al Bimani said
that the tournament seeks to instil noble aims at the hearts of the
AGCC university students, such as, promoting patriotism and national feelings in addition to cementing the brotherly bonds among
them. It also seeks to raise the university student’s awareness. He
pointed out that a main committee and sub committees for tournament have been formed to supervise the preparation for the tournament, ensure good preparation for it and supervise its activities.
Dr. Mohammed bin Awadh al Mashiakhi, Dean of Student Affairs
highlighted the role of SQU in encouraging cultural, scientific and
sports activities. Dr. Hamed Sulaiman Al Salmy, SQU Deputy Vice
Chancellor for Administrative and Financial Affairs, Dr. Mansoor Al
Touqi and Dr. Abdullah Al Kindi also attended the press conference.
The competitions will take place at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in
Baushar, Police Stadium and SQU.
Hanaa Al Sulaimani, a PhD student in the Dept. of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering of the College of Engineering has won the first place in
the graduate division of the student paper contest on the sidelines of the
2nd Saudi Meeting on Oil & Natural Gas Exploration (OGEP 2010) held
at Kind Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dahran, Saudi Arabia from December 18 to 20. The paper presented by Hanaa was entitled
“Biosurfactant Production by Bacillus spp. and it’s potential for microbial
enhanced oil recovery in Oman”. Explaining on her paper, Hanaa said:
“It deals with a biosurfactant that is produced by a bacteria of the Bacillus subtilis family isolated from Oman. I am proposing to use this biosurfactant as a cheap alternative to enhance oil recovery in some of the
Omani oil fields. The product is proven to be very effective with high stability under wide range of temperature, salinity and pH values”. Hanaa
had previously won the third place on a similar topic in the Society of
Petroleum Engineers Middle East Regional student paper contest held in
April 2010.
Hanaa is employed by PDO and is awarded a sScholarship from this organization to complete her PhD at SQU. Her PhD work aims to test the
potential of microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) as an effective alternative for traditional enhanced oil recovery methods in Oman. MEOR
process has several advantages compared to other EOR processes because
it does not consume large amounts of energy as do thermal processes,
nor does it depend on the oil price as do many chemical processes . The
process of MEOR involves utilizing microorganisms that are either indigenous or exogenous to the reservoir and their bio-products to enhance
oil recovery. Commenting on her achievement, Hanaa said: “I dedicate
this achievement to my beloved country, and I hope to hear more of such
happy news in the future from other students in SQU and Oman.” On
the occasion, she thanked her supervisors; Dr. Yahya Al-Wahaibi, Dr. Saif
Al-Bahry, Prof. Abdulkadir Elshafie and HE Dr. Ali Al-Bemani for their
continuous guidance and support. Also, she thanked Dr. Sanket Joshi for
sharing his experience in MEOR with her.
Exhibition Explores Investment Potential in Oman
land” under the patronage of Dr. Khamis Al Gharbi, Assistant Dean of the
college. The event was organized in the framework of the course “Business
Communication” and was supervised by Dr. Viktoriya Dauletova, Business
Communication Instructor.
By: Zamzam Al Rahma & Hilal Al Riyami
Students from the College of Commerce and Economics at SQU recently organized an exhibition titled “Oman: Investment wonder20 January 2011
P6
The focus of the exhibition was on three major business areas: Green Businesses (Recycling, World Green Companies, Green Awards), Sport in Oman
(challenges and opportunities for investing in the sport sector), 40th National Day Celebrations (main investors and sponsors). The aim of the exhibition was to present the students’ projects in order to raise awareness of
the SQU community about the current situation of investing in the abovementioned businesses as well as about the opportunities for the potential
business ventures. The students presented their research projects and their
findings, the purpose behind the selection of each project and what did
they learned from this experience. The exhibition generated lots of interest
among the SQU students and academic staff.
Panorama
The Journey of Learning
Dear Students,
It is almost the end of the teaching block and I realize that time has flown;
we have all been busy with meeting deadlines, learning new skills and performing our duties; as students, your duty has been to attend classes, pay
full attention to whatever is done in the class, submit your work within
deadlines, actively participate in the class and enthuse your friends to do
the same, and work outside the class hours. I have been very proud of having a batch of motivated, dedicated and polite students in the class. Thank
you for being so nice. It has been a pleasure to have worked with all of
you.
It is the end of our block, and now you will join your respective colleges,
leaving the Language Center after completing the Intensive English Programme. So, may I take this opportunity to share my thoughts and feelings
about learning?
By: Amita Jayant Sanghvi
Assistant Lecturer
Language Center
I want to emphasize the need for every Omani student to realize that they
have been offered the best facilities at this University. It is therefore their
responsibility to take full advantage of these facilities and the support given
for their all-round development. Education is not mere instruction; neither
is it mere grades nor just the capability of being employed. Education is rising higher in your own eyes; education is helping your fellow-men to rise
higher in their lives; as better human beings. Education is developing opportunities for yourself and others. Education is resisting all that is wrong;
living for the right, living fearlessly to strive for the common good. Education is aiming higher, for skies beyond this sky; being educated is believing
that like a tree, each one of us can branch out.
Please remember that the purpose of education is not learning information,
but learning and remembering your own capacity to succeed.Your capability and effort are the most important necessities for your success.Remember
that I am just meeting you for a few weeks, but I hope to be able to kindle a
passion for learning in you.
I always use games to raise your keen interest and motivation in the class, I
want you to recognize your own abilities; so do not ever get disappointed if
you don’t win a game in the class. I want you to enjoy the last few minutes
of the class and want you to leave the class with a smile, with a promise to
yourself that next time you will do better and better...
Participation is more important than prizes; that you try to compete with
others makes you aware of the challenges you face in becoming the bestthe winner. One more thing, if I may add: compete with yourself. It is more
important to perform better than you did last time, than to perform better
than somebody else in the class.
Soon the block will be over, so I want to mention the importance of loving
learning, loving books, loving achievement- success will follow you every
time you work with your heart and mind together.
I will now tell you a story of how I decided to learn English. I clearly remember the day, in fact the class, which triggered my love for the language.
I was barely 11 or 12 years old, in Class VII, when our English teacher was
absent. We thought we would have a free class, but then our Head Mistress
walked in and asked us to open our English text-books. We opened the
page number she asked us to, and found a poem by William Wordsworth’s
“Daffodils’.
Believe me, coming from India, and from a busy concrete city like Mumbai,
I had never seen a daffodil-not even a picture of the flower. In those days
one had no Internet to access and find images, videos etc that your technosavvy generation has!
But when our teacher recited the poem about Wordsworth coming upon
a ‘host of golden daffodils’ by a lake, I imagined the flowers growing by a
lake in thousands of numbers and ‘dancing’ and swaying’ their heads in the
breeze. I had traveled to this place, and in a few minutes, by a single recital
of this powerful poem.
I felt beauty sweep into my eyes, and I will never forget the joy I found in
learning that poem word by word, by heart. I fell in love with the poem, and
also, to this day, I am in love with my Head-mistress Mrs. Kothare, who
taught us this poem for 35 minutes.
When I went home that evening, I asked my mother, “What do I have
to do if I only want to read and teach poems in English all my life?” My
mother replied, “You have to graduate in English Literature, dear”. I had
decided at the age of 12, or was it 11, that I will graduate in English Literature and become an English teacher.
I have now been teaching English for 10 years; I did B.A in English, M.A
in English, and then won a scholarship to do M.A TESOL in the UK.
When I was in Lancaster, in Mick Short’s Stylistics class, during a discussion, I happened to mention how I happened to be a student of English
Literature. I then mentioned with laughter in my eyes and voice, “I am
waiting to see a daffodil to this day- I haven’t yet seen one”! Everyone in
the class laughed and said, “Wait for a few weeks, and the daffodils will
be all over the place.”
I had forgotten all about this class, when suddenly, one fine morning,
my classmate Andrew, brought a huge bouquet of daffodils for me. I was
speechless and overwhelmed, and did not find words to thank Andrew.
For more than a few minutes, I stared at those golden daffodils, silence
and tears of joy overwhelmed me. These were the very daffodils of Wordsworth, that had brought me on the long journey of learning English, on
the long journey to England, and till today, I am on the ship of learning,
still acquiring new words, learning the language that I love to teach on
the shores of Oman.
Like every journey, there have been moments of feeling lost, moments of
joy and enlightenment, moments of despair and failure, but I have never
stopped traveling; traveling through the realms of knowledge, reading
more and more and more, learning more and more, of how much more I
need to travel further, learn further.
For learning is a life-time journey. On this journey, I have welcomed each
one of you in my class, to share my knowledge, but above all, to infect
you with my passion for learning, and with the end of the block, I bid
farewell to each one of you, but remember that the journey of learning
must go on…
Best wishes,
Your teacher
Amita
20 January 2011
P7
Straight Talk
Tobias Bleninger
Dr. Tobias Bleninger is the group leader of
Environment Fluid Mechanics at the Institute for Hydromechanics in Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. He delivered one of the six keynote speeches in
the Second International Conference on
Coastal Zone Engineering and Management at SQU. His major research interests
in environmental fluid mechanics include
jets and plumes, mixing and transport
processes, submarine outfalls, cooling
water and desalination brine discharges.
He spoke to Horizon during his visit to the
university.
Horizon: Could you give an outline of the keynote paper that you presented in the
conference (Arabian Coast 2010)?
Dr. Tobias: In fluid mechanics I am mainly dealing with submarine outfalls, or discharges from all kinds of plants in the coastal ocean. My keynote paper at SQU was
related to brine discharges from desalination plants in which I discussed the mixing
processes, modelling techniques and environment impact regulations. When you look
at the concentration distribution in the marine water resulting from discharges from
the desalination plants, you are able to assess the environmental impact through the
results. We started laboratory experiments to study this phenomenon years before.
Based on the results we have developed an extended model. This model is actually
based on an existing model called ‘CORMIX’ which has been developed by my research
supervisor Gerhard Jirka some 20 years ago. We are working on extending that model
to be able to use it in controlling effluent discharges from desalination plants. The discharges from desalination plants are special in the sense that they have high level of
salinity and include some additives. The dense reverse osmosis (a kind of water filtration method) effluent flow has increased tendency to fall as negatively buoyant plume
and spread as a density current on the sea floor compared to other discharges. This
tendency is less or opposite in other discharges from thermal technologies, cooling
water technologies and waster water discharges.
Horizon: What are the potential negative impacts of increased seawater desalination on environment? How can we prevent them?
Dr. Tobias: The concerns mainly revolve around the concentrate and chemical
discharges into the sea and the air pollution emissions attributed to the energy
demand of the desalination process. In the case of effluent discharges, mangrove
forests, salt marshes, coral reefs, shallow coasts, etc are vulnerable areas. The negative impacts depend largely on the design of the plants. Existing technologies can
reduce negative impacts considerably. At the source and pre-treatment stages,
less harmful chemical substances can be used in the process of purification to
alleviate the harmful effects. Second step is to improve the discharge design of
the plants. Advanced off-shore and submerged discharge can really improve the
mixing processes and reduce impacts on the environment. The third strategy is
to frequent and intense monitoring of environment and water bodies to assess
the discharge condition. This can help in developing appropriate technologies
from time to time that can mitigate the negative effects.
Horizon: What measures can be taken in pre-treatment and treatment stages
of water desalination?
Dr. Tobias: In pre-treatment, it is advisable to use cleaner water as far as possible.
This can actually reduce the quantity of chemicals used in treatment. Nano-filtration
method can possibly reduce the amount of chemicals again. Different cleaning solutions, that are much easier to degrade, can be used for cleaning of the plant
to make the discharge less harmful.
Horizon : Do you have any association with SQU researchers in
the field of water desalination?
Dr. Tobias: We have a collaborative project funded by
the Middle East Desalination Research Centre. The project
investigates the environmental impact of desalination
plants. We are investigating far-field mixing processes
in the modelling part which involves spreading of the
brine solution with coastal currents and turbulence
of the sea. We have filed a report to the funding
agency regarding the environmental concerns
associated with effluent discharge with some
examples of effluent characteristics. We also introduced a coupled model to improve the discharge design that could help in environmental impact assessment. Dr. Anton Purnama and
Dr. Hamdi Al Barwani from SQU’s Department
of Mathematics & Statistics are collaborators
in this project.