Department of PublicRelations and InformationSultan Qaboos University

Issue 291

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Treated Greywater for Vegetable Gardens

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Mohamed Salem Al Ghailani

Editorial Supervision

Santhosh MuthalathSenior Editor

Sara Al GheilaniNasebah Al Muharrami

Translation

Ahlam Al WahaibiDesign & Layout

Photography Dept., CETPhotography

Salim Al SudairiDistribution

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 wel-come. 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.

The views and opinions expressed in the articles published in this newsletter are those of the authors and are not to be construed as the official views of the publication. 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 Fax: +968 24413 391E-mail: horizon@squ.edu.om Website: www.squ.edu.om

30 April 2014 P2

How do the learning methods and environments of the future, which com-bines new technology and future, look like? Think about a model in which technology plays an important part, supporting teaching and learning through an active, hands-on approach. Engaging Learning Environment, a project that forms part of Helsinki’s year as 2012 World Design Capital, sug-gests using active and engaging learning methods, instead of basic lecturing and listening. The people who developed this project believes that physical space and technology don’t really solve anything. It’s the pedagogical idea that matters. The emphasis is on students, student-activity, structuring and receiving information.

Minerva Plaza, a learning lab located in the facilities of the Faculty of Be-havioral Sciences at the University of Helsinki, is a learning environment that has been transformed into an architecturally innovative space. It im-plements technology in larger and smaller spaces for groups of different sizes and various types of events. This can be a learning environment of the future for teachers and students, so they can take the conventions to school. The idea is not to get ahead of technology, but teach teachers to utilize it as well. The lab contains 12 iPads and 12 Nokia Lumia smartphones config-ured for use in this space. They utilize certain applications that enable to connect mobile devices and classroom teaching aids. Images may be viewed on all screens in the lab including those in the smaller rooms, and everyone may edit the content. The devices allow the student to become involved by editing the same document that everyone sees.

In one exercise, students introduce themselves by sending pictures of each other from iPads to the big main screen, then organizing the photos, match-ing them with names. Students can also use iPads to associate colors with certain activities to indicate motivation. It is a space where one can safely experiment with new and different procedures. Whatever can be found here can be incorporated into teaching at the university, comprehensive school and upper secondary levels, as well as company training. In this type of an environment, one can practice what it feels like when someone sees what he or she are doing. It should be beautiful and user-friendly, inspiring. It is a place where people gather and share their enthusiasm. Living labs are pav-ing the way for permanent innovative learning environments of the future. With technology and educational research advancing, these environments may be turn out to look quite different.

Living Labs

@SQU-infoSQU-info

News Update

In order to explore the potential of academic and research collabora-tion in medicine and health sciences, an academic delegation from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Bahrain, headed by Prof. Sameer Otoom, President, visited Sultan Qaboos University recently. Prof, Said bin Ali Al Yahayee, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Community Service, and HH Sayyidah Dr. Mona bint Fahad Al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor for External Cooperation, and other officials from the Colleges of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Nursing at SQU received the Bahraini delegation. Both sides explored the possi-bilities of joint research in medicine and health sciences and nursing disciplines. Possibility of exchange of medical and nursing students between the two institutions for clinical training and internship was also discussed.

Meanwhile, Prof. Jong Wha Lee, Director and Professor, Department of Arabic Studies, Institute for Middle Eastern Affairs at Myongji Uni-versity, Seoul, Korea, recently visited HH Sayyidah Dr. Mona Al Said, Assistant VC for External Cooperation. They explored the possibility of exchange of students and faculty between the two institutions in Ara-bic language and Islamic studies disciplines.

SQU organized an Open Day for heads and delegations of the univer-sities and institutions who participated in the Higher Education Intui-tions Exhibition (Ghedex 2014) which was held at Oman International Exhibtion Centre. The Open Day was held at the Cultural Centre of the university under the patronage of HE Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, the Vice Chancellor.

The event was organized in order to strengthen ties between SQU and the universities from various countries which participated in Ghedex 2014 and to highlight SQU’s achievements in various fields since its es-tablishment in 1986. During the ceremony, a film on SQU was screened which shed light on the university’s academic programs and colleges. A film on research at SQU was also screened. At the end of the function, the Vice Chancellor and HH Sayyidah Dr. Mona bint Fahad Al Said, As-sistant Vice Chancellor for External Cooperation, answered questions from participants on SQU’s contributions in teaching, research, interna-tionalization and community service.

As many as 61 photographs taken by 41 members of the Photography Society at Sultan Qaboos University, had been put on display as part of the 17th Photography Week at the university. The opening ceremony of the event was held under the patronage of HE Dr. Said bin Hamad bin Al Rubaie, Secretary General for the Education Council. Mohammed bin Salim Al Nahdi, Head of the Photography Society, mentioned the objectives of this annual event in his opening remarks at the ceremony. This was followed by announcing the winners of the school level and regional level photography contests.

The photo exhibition was tilted “Wameed”. In connection with the event, Ahmed Al Kindi, a photographer, gave a talk on the importance photographers updating their knowledge in this filed and on the lack of sufficient books and other resources in photography available in Arabic. The “Artistic Night” held on the sidelines of the event included screen-ing of several creative video films including Macro2 and Phantom.

With around 90 papers and 120 speakers from different univer-sities around the world, the 14th Oman international ELT conference will be held from 8 to 9 of May at Sultan Qaboos University. The opening cere-mony and some other events of the conference will take place in the conference hall at SQU and other events will be held in (B) block. HE Dr. Abdelmoneim bin Mansour Al-Hassani, Minister for Information will be the chief guest at the opening ceremony.

Oman International ELT Con-ference is an exciting, stimulat-

ing and rewarding annual event for ELT professionals in all sectors. It aims to facilitate the exchange of ideas, experiences and new research findings in ELT. In the conference, the participant and audience will share their experience and the outcome of their research in this area. further, the conference will give a chance to suggest a better way to improve teaching and learning English. This year’s conference calls to strengthen the link between traditions and innovations in our profes-sional field.

The speakers will present their papers through workshops, presenta-tions and posters. Among the most important speakers in the confer-ence will be Prof. Susan Bardon from U.S.A, Prof. Mick Rendell from U.K and Prof. Mark Abgrom from Australia, in addition to speakers from oxford and Cambridge universities.

P3 30 April 2014

SQU to Host ELT Conference in May

Bahraini, Korean Delegations Received

Open Day for Ghedex Participants

Photography Week Held

Insight

30 April 2014 P4

As Oman is an arid land facing water scarcity, any type of water conserva-tion system is important for the nation. Greywater, or waste water gener-ated from wash hand basins, showers and baths, accounts for more than 50 percent of total wastewater flow to domestic sewers in Oman. A group of scientists at Sultan Qaboos University, through a study, proves that household greywater, after minimal and low cost physical treatment, can be reused for irrigating kitchen garden consisting of plants such as toma-toes, carrots, eggplants, grapes, other fruits, and even date palm trees.

Dr. Abdulrahim Al-Ismaili, an assistant professor in Agricultural Engi-neering at Sultan Qaboos University, who lives in Al Khoudh 6, an area where currently no pipe water supply is provided, selected his own household to install a grey water treatment system. “Any type of water conservation or reuse system is vital for me, as I pay around OMR 40 per month on water delivered in tanker trucks” he said. At his household, greywater, i.e., used water from hand wash basins, showers, baths and discharge from laundry, dishwaters and kitchen sinks is eliminated and collected in a separate underground tank whereas the black water or sew-age is disposed separately.

The greywater collected in the tank is then pumped to a treatment tank filled with layers of sand from sand dunes at the top, fine gravel at the middle, and then coarse gravel at the bottom. Above the sand, the water is filtered to remove large particles, hair, lint etc. from the greywater. The water which undergoes physical treatment through the tank, then passes through a small chamber where chlorine tablets are kept for disinfec-tion process. Now the treatment process is over and the recycled water is ready for irrigating the house garden and other plants. Dr. Abdulrahim applies the treated greywater directly to the soil, not through any method that would allow contact with the above-ground portion of the plants. He irrigates mainly tomato, carrots and eggplants growing in his house garden.

According to Dr. Abdulrahim, though the used water may contain grease, food particles, hair, and any number of other impurities, it may still be suitable for reuse. “Reusing greywater serves two purposes: it reduces the amount of freshwater needed to supply the household, and reduc-es the amount of waste water entering sewer or septic systems”. When asked why only greywater (sullage) and not blackwater (sewage) is recy-cled, he said: “Most greywater is easier to treat and recycle than blackwa-ter, because of lower levels of contaminants. If collected using a separate plumbing system from blackwater, domestic greywater can be recycled directly within the home, and reused for irrigation. Recycled greywater of this kind is never safe to drink, but a number of stages of filtration and microbial digestion can be used to provide water for washing or flushing

toilets. Fruit trees and vegetable plants grow well with greywater”, he said.

From the tomato plants grown in the backyard, Dr. Abdulrahim collects at around 1kg of fresh ripened tomatoes per day. “Eggplant and carrot plants also give good yields. Now I am irrigating some fruit trees such as fig, mulberry and grapes in addition to five newly planted date palm sap-lings”, he said. At present, as part of a study, the house garden has been divided into three parts based on the type of water and nutrients pro-vided to the plants. In the first part, the plants are irrigated with culinary water in addition to regular nutrients such as nitrogen, calcium and po-tassium. In the second compartment, the plants are irrigated with treated greywater and not provided with any extra nutrients other than those available in the soil. The third section is irrigated with treated greywater and provided with extra nutrients. “Apparently, the first section has the maximum yield which indicates that the soap, shampoo and conditioners traces present in the greywater are slightly affecting the production and growth of the plants”, Dr. Abdulrahim said.

“However, if extra nutrients are provided, the production increases. I am very much satisfied with the efficiency of the greywater treatment facil-ity installed in my household and I believe that this model can be emu-lated in households across the Sultanate which can substantially lower household water bills and save the planet in the long run. In almost every Omani household, there are big lawns and green yards which are often irrigated with home water supply, which leads to heavy water bills and draining of water resources. Installation of household treatment system at each household is a promising solution for the country. The cost of setting up a system is very cheap compared to the good results in the long run, Dr. Abdulrahim said. In his experience, the system which has a capacity of 2 cubic meter of water, produces more treated water than what is required for irrigation. In fact, the excess treated water can be sent to toilet flush-tanks using small pumps. This may again reduce the consumption of supplied water.

This research project is supported by an internal research grant from the Centre for Environmental Studies & Research (CESAR) at Sultan Qaboos University. The project titled “development of low-cost and decentral-ized greywater treatment systems for handling, treatment and reuse in Oman”, aims at developing a greywater treatment system. The project is headed by Dr. Mushtaque Ahmed and the team includes Dr. Ahmed Al-Busaidi, Dr. Abdulrahim Al-Ismaili and Mr. Seif Al-Adawi, all from the Department of Soils, Water & Agricultural Engineering of the College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences. The researchers look forward to provid-ing any kind of assistance to people interested in this project.

Treated Greywater for Vegetable Gardens

Mind Over Matter

P5 30 April 2014

Virtual labs and remote-access to labs in of Computer Science can cater to students at the undergraduate level, post graduate level as well as to research scholars. Vir-tual labs will enthuse students to conduct experiments by arousing their curiosity. This would help them in learning basic and advanced concepts through remote experimentation. Virtual labs provide a complete learn-ing management system around it where the students can avail various tools for learning, including addition-al web-resources, video-lectures, animated demonstra-tions and self-evaluation. Virtual labs enables to share equipment and resources, which are otherwise avail-able to limited number of users due to constraints on time and geographical distances.

E-learning is defined as a virtual environment where the teachers and learners communicate and share the knowl-edge online. The success of on-line education depends on the availability of resources on-line which is used to sup-port the learning process of the course and provides al-most a complete environment for the learners. Computer Science education is one field that uses Learning Manage-ment Systems (LMSs) to support its needs and to provide the course environment through the web for all students. Many researchers are trying to optimize and expand the functionality of the LMS in the field of education in gen-eral and in Computer Science education as a special case.

Computer Science education involves two parts of its edu-cation process: the theory part and the practical part. The theory part involves using the e-learning tools to upload the documents (e.g. PowerPoint slides, e-books, work-sheets, PDF document, etc.). However, the practical part involves providing the needed software for the practical session of Computer Science courses (e.g. the programing language compilers, Science Demo, Simulators, Drawing tools, etc.). Nowadays, many LMSs provide a good soft-ware tools for the theory part within the e-learning plat-forms. However, the practical part of Computer Science education isn’t active as it should be in most of the LMSs. Therefore, it must be more flexible to integrate the needed software tools to the LMSs (e.g. Moodle). This would al-low the students to access the entire course environment in an online mode at any time and from any where.

To overcome these limitations regarding the practical ses-sion, the LMS (e.g. Moodle) could be enhanced by inte-grating it with the needed software tools. There are sev-eral attempts used to support this. The easiest attempt is suggested to plug the required software tool as a single page represented by URL link. This is to make these tools available in the server and use them in the client envi-ronment. This solution has a drawback that involves the student to have the base environment for the execution of the software tools. The second attempt is suggested to build the needed tools within the LMS system as a new component. This way allows the integration of the soft-ware tool as a whole component of the same program-ming language and technologies used in the LMS. This is to let the student uses the software tool in the same environment of the LMS. This attempt may reduce the performance of the LMS since it will be utilized by the students who will run the software tools. The third at-tempt is suggested to use available web services of the software tools. In this attempt, once students request the usage of the software tools, the LMS connects the students to the services (software tools) in WWW and allows the students to use it. Since to use the software tool, the stu-dents will be transferred to the service’s providers envi-ronment, this attempt is considered to be the best and the most flexible in reducing the time needed and the load at the LMS than other attempts.

Virtual Labs Support Computer Science Education

By: Dr. Zuhoor Abdullah Al-Khanjari & Yusra Al-RoshdiDepartment of Computer Science

News Round Up

As part of the existing Memorandum of Understanding between the two universities for exchange of faculty and students and collaborative research, a group of Earth Sciences students from the Western Ontario University, Canada visited Sultan Qaboos University recently and ex-plored the geology of Oman through field trips. Dr. Neil R. Banerjee lead a group consisting of sixteen students from Canada. They, along with fifteen students from the Earth Science Department of SQU who studied the geology of Oman, carried out geological field work in Oman under the leadership of Prof. Sobhi Nasir, Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, from 16 to 25 of February, 2014. The team visited the Fanja-Somera regions, Naakhl massif, Wadi Al Abyad, Wadi Jizzi, Wadi Himalaya, As Saifa and Bar Al Hakman, locations known for their geo-logical importance featuring of mineralized zones, crustal and mantle sequences, chromite bearing serpentinized harzburgites, the MOHO, the extrusive dykes and pillow lavas and the high pressure eclogite rocks.

The students were exposed to the geology of Oman through a series of lectures, and the exploration of oil in Oman by visiting Petroleum De-velopment Corporations (PDO). They also explored the chromite occur-rences at the mines of Nakhl region, and the copper minerals by logging of core samples at Mawarid Mines, Sohar during this programme. The students had short tours and explored the pleasant culture of Oman. During the programme, the students from both sides had an opportu-nity to discuss, describe, share, exchange and explore their knowledge in geology and field experiences apart from clarifying doubts.

A group of 18 fine arts students from Sultan Qaboos University’s Col-lege of Education, exhibited their paintings at the French Omani Centre in Madinat Sultan Qaboos recently. The exhibition titled “Impressions of Oman” was organized by the French Omani Centre in association with the Art Education Department at SQU. HH Sayyidah Dr. Mona bint Fahad Al Said, SQU Assistant Vice Chancellor for External Coop-eration and HE Yves Oudin, Ambassador of France to the Sultanate of Oman, and other dignitaries visited the exhibition.

Helene Hardy, an art teacher at SQU, said that the exhibition was well received by Omanis and foreigners and this was obvious from the big turnout of art lovers at the venue. “This is for the first time that art students at Sultan Qaboos University is exhibiting their works outside the university. This event helps to boost the confidence of the students and we have plans to conduct more exhibitions in the days to come”, she said.

The 18 works of art exhibited at the event threw light on the social as-pects and cultural heritage and traditions of the Sultanate. The works of art included portraits and landscapes using different media. The ex-hibition came out of the collective efforts and collaboration, displaying students’ own impressions of Oman. “Having the support of the French Omani Centre, students could inspire people through their work. These young artists believe that Art is the best way to express their feelings. Between modernity and tradition, they send a message of love for their country; its sublime mountains; its cities, villages and people. Oman is transcribed and visualised through this new generation that aspire to become Art teachers and Artists in their own right”, Helene opined.

P630 April 2014

Earth Science Students from SQU, Canada Learn Together

Art Students Exhibit their “Impressions of Oman”

Walkathon Spotlights Alzheimer’s Disease

“Remember 2014” walkathon, aimed at creating awareness on Alzheimer’s disease, healthy lifestyle and road safety, was held at the Bausher Sports Complex recently. The walkathon was organized by the Ageing and De-mentia Research Group at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), SQU Hospital and Oman Alzheimer’s Society with the support of Khimji Ramdas Group. Approximately 3.2km walkathon, which took place on the outskirts of the Sultan Qaboos Sports Stadium saw people from all walks of life, including those affected by Alzheimer’s disease and their families, students from SQU, other national and international schools, who walked for this noble cause.

“Remember 2014” started with a welcome address given by Dr Mohamed Essa, Principal Investigator of Ageing and Demen-tia Research group, SQU. In his welcome speech Dr. Essa wel-comed the Chief Guest Dr. Abdullah al Asmi, Director General of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Ghalia al Khusaibi and Ayman Hamza representing Khimji Ramdas, Presenter of this event, sponsors, caregivers, student volunteers, press person-nel and all participants. Dr. Essa also applauded the untiring efforts of Dr. Hamed al Senawi, Dr. Ragini Vaishnav, and others to make this event a success. Dr. Essa further said the event was aimed to promote healthy lifestyles and create awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and road safety since the chances of devel-oping Alzheimer’s are much higher among those who have sus-tained traumatic brain injury because of road traffic accidents and other reasons.

Commenting on the Group’s involvement as main sponsor of this event, Kanak Khimji, Director, Khimji Ramdas said Alzhe-imer’s is a life changing disease that does not only affect the life of the patient but transforms the lives of the family members, loved ones and eventually the community. He also reiterated the Group’s commitment to help build a brighter future for Oman.

Panorama

P7 30 April 2014

University-wide focus on teaching and research, implementation of spe-cific curricula for innovation and entrepreneurship , commercialization of systems and practice, and integration with the society are the prerequisites of an entrepreneurial university, said Prof. Kevin Hindle famous consultant and researcher in entrepreneurship, and CEO of Mentor Entrepreneurship Group (MENTREG). Prof. Hindle was giving a talk on “Can SQU become an entrepreneurial university; should it?” at a seminar organized by Academic Innovation Assistance Program (AIAP) at SQU under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Hilal Al Hinai, Secretary General of the Research Council (TRC).

Prof. Hindle said that entrepreneurship is the process of evaluating, com-mitting to and achieving, under contextual constraints, the creation of new value from new knowledge for the benefit of defined stakeholders. His talk focused on what SQU actually does and does not do to make its overall approach to teaching and research innovative or staid. “In this regard an important consideration goes beyond the university’s walls to the whole system of tertiary education at the national level. The university must adopt and commit to basing its innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) programs on research-based definitions of the relationship between, innovation, en-trepreneurship, opportunity evaluation, new venture creation, business model and business plan”, he said.

The seminar was attended by top officials of SQU including the vice chan-cellor, the deputy vice chancellors, deans and assistant deans of the colleges, and directors of research centers. The main objective of the AIAP, instituted by TRC jointly with SQU is to promote the culture of innovation and create conducive environment for innovation driven research and development in Oman higher education institutions. In order to encourage faculty and graduate students to consider the market and societal relevance of their re-search, Sultan Qaboos University is putting in place a series of measures to encourage entrepreneurship among its faculty and students, and facilitate university-industry collaboration.

Global Patent SystemThe Academic Innovation Assistance Program (AIAP) and the Innovation Affairs Department at SQU, recently hosted two leading lawyers from an internationally leading law firm specialized in intellectual property rights and patent registration. Richard Litman, CEO of Litman Law firm an IP and Emerging Technologies Group Leader, Becker & Poliakoff Firm, Washing-ton DC, and James Nick Lafave, Patent Attorney, Becker & Poliakoff Firm, gave talks on a number of topics such as “how research can benefit from the global patent system”, and introduction to intellectual property”, and “the purpose and meaning of patent searchers” at SQU.

Speaking on “how researchers can benefit from the global patent system”, the lawyers said that universities should provide valuable assistance to

researchers with regard to patent registration and intellectual property rights. “Published patent applications are not peer reviewed and available 18 months after filing -- because it is a first to file system and patents can be obtained based solely on a written description, these materials will have information that may not be known by the researchers. The process should capture all disclosures of potentially patentable inventions and ensure that those disclosures are subject to professional patent screening. If there is a patentable invention, potential worldwide IP rights should be preserved so that these rights can be transferred to industry in the most valuable form”, they explained.

Speaking on technology transfer and research and development, the lawyers said that universities should align research projects and university capabili-ties with other stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem. “An expert analy-sis of each invention’s positioning in the patent landscape and marketplace will identify the best potential collaboration partners and licensees. Getting a patent in a single country is not as important as preserving the right to apply for patents throughout the world. The best way to preserve options throughout the world is to establish an international filing date by filing a patent application and claiming priority to it in subsequent corresponding patent applications filed pursuant to the Paris Convention, which allows up to 1 year to file in member patent offices and claim priority to the origi-nal filing date”, they said. In order to understand the invention’s market-ability, it is critical to understand the novel features of the invention, when compared to currently available products. These features are then used to inform further elements of the marketability analysis. Based on the unique features, all current products that relate to the invention can be identified. Speaking on “the purpose and meaning of patent searching” which fuels in-novation, they said that Thomas Edison used published patent information for its intended purpose - to develop improvements. “He had to hire patent experts throughout the world to do manual searches, and get translations as needed. Today it is much faster. There are over 50 million published patent documents on the Internet, all types of search engines and translation can be almost instantaneous. Prior art, including all previous public disclosures such as patents, patent document, and non-patent literature, is searched for patentability of the invention before an application is filed. Search results can be used to decide on protection and further exploration”. The talk se-ries was attended by researchers and academicians from various colleges and research centers at SQU.

The Academic Innovation Assistance program (AIAP) is an initiative of The Research Council (TRC) in response to the call made by the Council Board to design a program that supports innovation at institutions of higher edu-cation. TRC and SQU have built a consensus on the best way forward in developing this program. The joint efforts have resulted in a significantly enhanced version of AIAP created in a collaborative manner by both stake-holders.

Becoming an Entrepreneurial University

Straight Talk

Horizon: What was my inspiration to join the field of pathology?Dr. Chinoy: As an 18 year old undergrad in 1st MBBS, a tiny man named Dr. Denis Burkitt, gave a talk on “Geographic Pathology” in our college. I was mesmerized, listening to this vibrant, active, twitching little man, walking all over the stage, talking about food, stools, lympho-mas and diseases of the Western world versus our world. He planted the first tiny seed of curiosity in my otherwise blank, and impressionable mind. Without speaking a word directly to me, he cajoled me into think-ing that pathology could well become an exciting path to follow. Since then I have listened to, and learnt medicine from some (not all) of my teachers. Even today, none come even close to the passionate inspiring teacher that was Dr Burkitt.

Horizon: Breast cancer is world-wide the leading cancer in women? Dr. Chinoy: Breast cancer is a force to reckon with. It is a very smart devious disease, worthy of respect and study. Yes it is very much the leading cancer of urban Indian women.

Horizon: What made you choose this disease as your area of spe-cialization?Dr. Chinoy: I did not choose this area of specialization. In Tata Hos-pital, the boss tells all newcomers what areas they should work at. Breast pathology came my way, as did soft tissue pathology and cytol-ogy. I grew to enjoy the subjects, and worked at satisfying my curiosity about diagnostic nuances. I consider myself lucky as I never got bored with these subjects, (whereas I hated neuropathology and find lympho-mas too much like maths to really like) There was always something exciting & even frustrating to tackle in breast pathology. It still keeps me going, and hopefully will continue to do so.

Horizon: Is Breast cancer actually increasing or is that we are diag-nosing more because of screening?Dr. Chinoy: I think it is increasing. People live longer, and we have better skills today of diagnosis. Both facets work to make this an in-creasing scourge for women. We still do not know how to prevent it, nor are we wiser about a total cure for all patients. Yes, physicians and sur-geons manage to prolong lives a bit, and cure the lucky few who come early. But the burden of cases is huge, and resources pitiably limited in the developing world. Breast cancer is here to stay for a long time.

Horizon: You have spent decades working in this field in the most prestigious cancer hospital in India. What was it like? Dr. Chinoy: I got lucky. I got this job in Tata Hospital, which I had been lusting over. With Tata, I was simultaneously working in Prince Aly Khan for the last 25 years. Then I was allotted subjects that both interested and intrigued me. Anyone who works in Tata Hospital and Prince Aly Khan Hospital, is thrown into an ocean, and unless you are an absolute idiot, you cannot help but learn from the umpteen experi-ences thrown at you. You have to learn fast, because these centres has more work than doctors can handle. We had to burn our fingers on more than a few occasions. Our seniors were there to guide us for big things, but the irritating little grains of sand in our shoes, were our prob-lems. One had to work at it alone.

Horizon: Is breast cancer different in different parts of the world ?Dr. Chinoy: I did believe this, and to a certain extent, I still believe there are differences. But once at a conference in Budapest, a famous American pathologist rapped me hard on my knuckles He said that when Europe and American started out on their journey of scientifically dealing with breast cancer statistics, they had similar results to what we have today in developing countries. With screening, and early detection they have ironed out many irregularities. He made the statement that if, and when the developed world caught up with the West, in technol-ogy, screening and early detection, we would have the same scenario as them. So he believed that it was only a matter of time before the dif-ferences got evened out. As of now, we have younger patients, more aggressive diseases, and a higher stage at diagnosis, with unacceptably high mortality rates. We have lower hormone receptor status and a large number of triple negative patients. I see a change in cities, but not in the smaller towns & in patients from rural villages.

Dr. Roshan F. Chinoy is a Consultant Histopathol-ogist at Prince Aly Khan Hospital, Mumbai, India. An expert in breast cancer diagnosis, and former head of Pathology at Tata Memorial Cancer Cen-tre, Mumbai, Dr. Chinoy, shared her knowledge of breast cancer pathology and its new molecular frontiers though a keynote address at the First Pathology Update organized by SQU recently. Ex-cerpts from her chat with Horizon:

Dr. Roshan F. Chinoy