"Hoping to Rise? Master the Elevator Talk" -- Gabe Goldberg, Special to The Washington Post, April 20, 2008
One of the unpleasant things about doing really useful things, such as desulfurization research, is justifying your existence to the people who control your budget. You can make that task more pleasant, or at least more productive, by creating 10-second and 30-second scripts that you can use when you are waiting for the elevator with one of your executives. Think of it as small talk with a purpose.
Unfortunately, most executives have only a vague idea of what you do. So to relate to them, you may have to use some of that creativity you use in your research. That’s where a news aggregator like Al Neft (www.alneft.com) can help.
According to its Web …
“Al Neft or Crude Oil in arabic is the story of modern Middle East and its importance to Global economy and politics. The site aims to provide objective analysis on developments & trends within the Oil & Gas Industry in the Middle East & North Africa and overall macro-economic environment within the region and worldly wisdom.”
There are hundreds of news aggregators on the Web. The interesting thing about Al Neft is that it filters the news from a Middle East perspective. The emphasis is on news about oil related events in the Middle East, and on global oil related events that will affect developments in the Middle East petroleum business.
This can lead to some interesting talking points when you have found yourself next to one of your execs. The executive may not understand the importance of your research, but he or she will understand the implications of …
“Saudi local consumption of Crude Oil continue to climb with current estimate of 2.8 m bpd in 2010 from 2.6 m bpd in 2009. Saudi total production stood at 12.5 m bpd. Heavy subsidies of feedstock to Industrial users and gasoline pump price and lack of sufficient natural gas will pose potential constraints on future exports from the world’s central bank of oil.”
Source: http://alneft.com/?p=46
I don’t care who you are … if you’re in the oil business, an item like this will be food for thought. And a thoughtful executive is just the kind of person you need to cultivate.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Monitoring Tip: Biodesulfurization
“The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer” -- Ed Murrow
When monitoring developments in your field, ScienceDirect (www.sciencedirect.com) is a good source … not the only source, but free, and easy to use.
Save yourself some time by going beyond the obvious in forming your search string. For example, if you are interested in the use of rhodococcus to desulurize petroleum products, and you are interested in recent developments in the field, the following search statement is designed to retrieve just what you need.
rhodococcus desulfurization 2010
Here are a few of the results of the search …
Biodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene by a newly isolated Rhodococcus erythropolis strain
Bioresource Technology, Volume 101, Issue 3, February 2010, Pages 1102-1105
Fatemeh Davoodi-Dehaghani, Manouchehr Vosoughi, Abed Ali Ziaee
Identification and functional analysis of genes required for desulfurization of alkyl dibenzothiophenes of Mycobacterium sp. G3
Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Volume 100, Issue 4, October 2005, Pages 398-402
Nobuhiko Nomura, Masaki Takada, Hideki Okada, Yuko Shinohara, Toshiaki Nakajima-Kambe, Tadaatsu Nakahara, Hiroo Uchiyama
Biodesulfurization of refractory organic sulfur compounds in fossil fuels
Biotechnology Advances, Volume 25, Issue 6, November-December 2007, Pages 570-596
Mehran Soleimani, Amarjeet Bassi, Argyrios Margaritis
Analyses of substrate specificity of the desulfurizing bacterium Mycobacterium sp. G3
Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Volume 93, Issue 2, February 2002, Pages 228-233
Hideki Okada, Nobuhiko Nomura, Tadaatsu Nakahara, Kenji Maruhashi
By bringing to your online search strategy the same creativity you use in your research, you will improve the effectiveness of your efforts in both areas.
When monitoring developments in your field, ScienceDirect (www.sciencedirect.com) is a good source … not the only source, but free, and easy to use.
Save yourself some time by going beyond the obvious in forming your search string. For example, if you are interested in the use of rhodococcus to desulurize petroleum products, and you are interested in recent developments in the field, the following search statement is designed to retrieve just what you need.
rhodococcus desulfurization 2010
Here are a few of the results of the search …
Biodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene by a newly isolated Rhodococcus erythropolis strain
Bioresource Technology, Volume 101, Issue 3, February 2010, Pages 1102-1105
Fatemeh Davoodi-Dehaghani, Manouchehr Vosoughi, Abed Ali Ziaee
Identification and functional analysis of genes required for desulfurization of alkyl dibenzothiophenes of Mycobacterium sp. G3
Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Volume 100, Issue 4, October 2005, Pages 398-402
Nobuhiko Nomura, Masaki Takada, Hideki Okada, Yuko Shinohara, Toshiaki Nakajima-Kambe, Tadaatsu Nakahara, Hiroo Uchiyama
Biodesulfurization of refractory organic sulfur compounds in fossil fuels
Biotechnology Advances, Volume 25, Issue 6, November-December 2007, Pages 570-596
Mehran Soleimani, Amarjeet Bassi, Argyrios Margaritis
Analyses of substrate specificity of the desulfurizing bacterium Mycobacterium sp. G3
Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Volume 93, Issue 2, February 2002, Pages 228-233
Hideki Okada, Nobuhiko Nomura, Tadaatsu Nakahara, Kenji Maruhashi
By bringing to your online search strategy the same creativity you use in your research, you will improve the effectiveness of your efforts in both areas.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Expert Alert: Dr. Theresa Phillips
"When all think alike, then no one is thinking." — Walter Lippman
This will be my last post for a few days … I will be on travel. Here is today’s offering.
I ran across a blog by Dr. Theresa Phillips. One of her posts succinctly describes the obstacles to commercialization of biodesulfurization. To quote from her post …
"Biodesulfurization was viewed as a way to reduce costs and the environmental impacts associated with the chemical processes. However, few microorganisms could remove sulfur species from oil, and those that did (Rhodococcus sp. of bacteria, for example) did not survive well in the toxic crude oil, with minimal available water ... A review by Soleimani et al. 2007 indicates that nothing much changed in this area of research at least in the first year after I left, and that more research is needed in nearly all the areas I had been investigating"
Source: http://biotech.about.com/b/2009/02/09/will-biodesulfurization-ever-work.htm
The cite for the Soleimani article she mentions is …
Soleimani, M., Bassi, A., and Margaritis, A. 2007. Biodesulfurization of refractory organic sulfur compounds in fossil fuels. Biotechnol. Adv. 25(6):570-96.
Source, with free view of entire article: http://www.scribd.com/doc/26432297/Biodesulfurization-of-Refractory-Organic-Sulfur-Compounds-in-Fossil-Fuels
Join my LinkedIn network ... view my profile at www.linkedin.com/in/jeansteinhardtresearch
This will be my last post for a few days … I will be on travel. Here is today’s offering.
I ran across a blog by Dr. Theresa Phillips. One of her posts succinctly describes the obstacles to commercialization of biodesulfurization. To quote from her post …
"Biodesulfurization was viewed as a way to reduce costs and the environmental impacts associated with the chemical processes. However, few microorganisms could remove sulfur species from oil, and those that did (Rhodococcus sp. of bacteria, for example) did not survive well in the toxic crude oil, with minimal available water ... A review by Soleimani et al. 2007 indicates that nothing much changed in this area of research at least in the first year after I left, and that more research is needed in nearly all the areas I had been investigating"
Source: http://biotech.about.com/b/2009/02/09/will-biodesulfurization-ever-work.htm
The cite for the Soleimani article she mentions is …
Soleimani, M., Bassi, A., and Margaritis, A. 2007. Biodesulfurization of refractory organic sulfur compounds in fossil fuels. Biotechnol. Adv. 25(6):570-96.
Source, with free view of entire article: http://www.scribd.com/doc/26432297/Biodesulfurization-of-Refractory-Organic-Sulfur-Compounds-in-Fossil-Fuels
Join my LinkedIn network ... view my profile at www.linkedin.com/in/jeansteinhardtresearch
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The Heavy Lifting of Document Delivery
“He has to do the heavy lifting and the windows and the wash, and also protect the president.” -- Alan K. Simpson (Wyoming politician born 1931)
There are lots of things, thanks be to the Internet, that we can do ourselves these days. But just because we can do almost anything doesn’t mean we should try to do everything.
For example … while it can be a good thing to do your own online research, obtaining copies of the articles and papers you unearth can be so time consuming that you don’t have time to do anything else.
Document delivery, as it is called, is a task best done by your friendly corporate library staff. They are more efficient and paid less.
A concrete example … I found an interesting article on biodesulfurization.
Microbiology (2008), 154, 2169–2183
Biocatalytic desulfurization (BDS) of petrodiesel fuels
Ghasemali Mohebali1 and Andrew S. Ball2
Correspondence Ghasemali Mohebali (mohebaligh@ripi.ir)
1Department of Petroleum Biotechnology, Biotechnology Research Center, Research Institute of
Petroleum Industry, Tehran, Iran
2School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
One quote from the article was particularly interesting …
“Therefore, with respect to these advantages, placing the BDS unit downstream of an HDS unit as a complementary technology to achieve ultradeep desulfurization, rather than as a replacement, should also be considered.”
source: http://mic.sgmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/154/8/2169.pdf
As I often do, I glanced at the article’s references to see what else I might want to read. Some technical articles list 10 references. This article lists almost 10 PAGES of references.
Imagine spending your precious time obtaining even a fraction of the references from such an article. You could do so … and you could wash your own windows, while you’re at it, and vacuum your own area, not to mention cleaning the rest room.
But why, when you have a perfectly good corporate library to assign this task to? (Document delivery, that is, not cleaning toilets)
And if you don’t have a corporate library, find a good document delivery specialist on the AIIP – Association of Independent Information Professionals Web (www.aiip.org)
Here is one page of the references from the above article …
First Page of References from Biocatalytic desulfurization (BDS) of petrodiesel fuels
Abbad-Andaloussi, S., Lagnel, C., Warzywoda, M. & Monot, F.
(2003). Multi-criteria comparison of resting cell activities of bacterial
strains selected for biodesulfurization of petroleum compounds.
Enzyme Microb Technol 32, 446–454.
Alves, L., Salgueiro, R., Rodrigues, C., Mesquita, E., Matos, J. & Gı´rio,
F. M. (2005). Desulfurization of dibenzothiophene, benzothiophene,
and other thiophene analogs by a newly isolated bacterium, Gordonia
alkanivorans strain 1B. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 120, 199–208.
Arensko¨ tter, M., Bro¨ ker, D. & Steinbu¨ chel, A. (2004). Biology of the
metabolically diverse genus Gordonia. Appl Environ Microbiol 70,
3195–3204.
Armstrong, S. M., Sankey, B. M. & Voordouw, G. (1995). Conversion
of dibenzothiophene to biphenyl by sulfate-reducing bacteria
isolated from oil field production facilities. Biotechnol Lett 17,
1133–1136.
Armstrong, S. M., Sankey, B. M. & Voordouw, G. (1997). Evaluation
of sulfate-reducing bacteria for desulfurizing bitumen or its fractions.
Fuel 76, 223–227.
Bahrami, A., Shojaosadati, S. A. & Mohebali, G. (2001).
Biodegradation of dibenzothiophene by thermophilic bacteria.
Biotechnol Lett 23, 899–901.
Caro, A., Boltes, K., Leton, P. & Garcıa-Calvo, E. (2007).
Dibenzothiophene biodesulfurization in resting cell conditions by
aerobic bacteria. Biochem Eng J 35, 191–197.
Chang, J. H., Chang, Y. K., Cho, K.-S. & Chang, H. N. (2000).
Desulfurization of model and diesel oils by resting cells of Gordona sp.
Biotechnol Lett 22, 193–196.
Chang, J. H., Kim, Y. J., Lee, B. H., Cho, K.-S., Rye, H. W., Chang, Y. K.
& Chang, H. N. (2001). Production of a desulfurization biocatalyst by
two-stage fermentation and its application for the treatment of model
and diesel oils. Biotechnol Prog 17, 876–880.
Coco, W. M., Levinston, W. E., Crist, M. J., Hektor, H. J., Darzins, A.,
Pienkos, P. T., Squires, C. H. & Monticello, D. J. (2001). DNA
shuffling method for generating highly recombined genes and evolved
enzymes. Nat Biotechnol 19, 354–359.
Denis-Larose, C., Labbe, D., Nergron, H., Jones, A. M., Greer, C. W.,
Al-Hawari, J., Grossman, M. J., Sankey, B. M. & Lau, P. C. K.
(1997). Conservation of plasmid-encoded dibenzothiophene desulfurization
genes in several rhodococci. Appl Environ Microbiol 63,
2915–2919.
Denome, S. A., Olson, E. S. & Young, K. D. (1993a). Identification
and cloning of genes involved in specific desulfurization of
dibenzothiophene by Rhodococcus sp. strain IGTS8. Appl Environ
Microbiol 59, 2837–2843.
Denome, S. A., Stanley, D. C., Olson, E. S. & Young, K. D. (1993b).
Metabolism of dibenzothiophene and naphthalene in Pseudomonas
strains: complete DNA sequence of an upper naphthalene catabolic
pathway. J Bacteriol 175, 6890–6901.
Denome, S. A., Oldfield, C., Nash, L. J. & Young, K. D. (1994).
Characterization of the desulfurization genes from Rhodococcus sp.
strain IGTS8. J Bacteriol 176, 6707–6716
source: http://mic.sgmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/154/8/2169.pdf
There are lots of things, thanks be to the Internet, that we can do ourselves these days. But just because we can do almost anything doesn’t mean we should try to do everything.
For example … while it can be a good thing to do your own online research, obtaining copies of the articles and papers you unearth can be so time consuming that you don’t have time to do anything else.
Document delivery, as it is called, is a task best done by your friendly corporate library staff. They are more efficient and paid less.
A concrete example … I found an interesting article on biodesulfurization.
Microbiology (2008), 154, 2169–2183
Biocatalytic desulfurization (BDS) of petrodiesel fuels
Ghasemali Mohebali1 and Andrew S. Ball2
Correspondence Ghasemali Mohebali (mohebaligh@ripi.ir)
1Department of Petroleum Biotechnology, Biotechnology Research Center, Research Institute of
Petroleum Industry, Tehran, Iran
2School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
One quote from the article was particularly interesting …
“Therefore, with respect to these advantages, placing the BDS unit downstream of an HDS unit as a complementary technology to achieve ultradeep desulfurization, rather than as a replacement, should also be considered.”
source: http://mic.sgmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/154/8/2169.pdf
As I often do, I glanced at the article’s references to see what else I might want to read. Some technical articles list 10 references. This article lists almost 10 PAGES of references.
Imagine spending your precious time obtaining even a fraction of the references from such an article. You could do so … and you could wash your own windows, while you’re at it, and vacuum your own area, not to mention cleaning the rest room.
But why, when you have a perfectly good corporate library to assign this task to? (Document delivery, that is, not cleaning toilets)
And if you don’t have a corporate library, find a good document delivery specialist on the AIIP – Association of Independent Information Professionals Web (www.aiip.org)
Here is one page of the references from the above article …
First Page of References from Biocatalytic desulfurization (BDS) of petrodiesel fuels
Abbad-Andaloussi, S., Lagnel, C., Warzywoda, M. & Monot, F.
(2003). Multi-criteria comparison of resting cell activities of bacterial
strains selected for biodesulfurization of petroleum compounds.
Enzyme Microb Technol 32, 446–454.
Alves, L., Salgueiro, R., Rodrigues, C., Mesquita, E., Matos, J. & Gı´rio,
F. M. (2005). Desulfurization of dibenzothiophene, benzothiophene,
and other thiophene analogs by a newly isolated bacterium, Gordonia
alkanivorans strain 1B. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 120, 199–208.
Arensko¨ tter, M., Bro¨ ker, D. & Steinbu¨ chel, A. (2004). Biology of the
metabolically diverse genus Gordonia. Appl Environ Microbiol 70,
3195–3204.
Armstrong, S. M., Sankey, B. M. & Voordouw, G. (1995). Conversion
of dibenzothiophene to biphenyl by sulfate-reducing bacteria
isolated from oil field production facilities. Biotechnol Lett 17,
1133–1136.
Armstrong, S. M., Sankey, B. M. & Voordouw, G. (1997). Evaluation
of sulfate-reducing bacteria for desulfurizing bitumen or its fractions.
Fuel 76, 223–227.
Bahrami, A., Shojaosadati, S. A. & Mohebali, G. (2001).
Biodegradation of dibenzothiophene by thermophilic bacteria.
Biotechnol Lett 23, 899–901.
Caro, A., Boltes, K., Leton, P. & Garcıa-Calvo, E. (2007).
Dibenzothiophene biodesulfurization in resting cell conditions by
aerobic bacteria. Biochem Eng J 35, 191–197.
Chang, J. H., Chang, Y. K., Cho, K.-S. & Chang, H. N. (2000).
Desulfurization of model and diesel oils by resting cells of Gordona sp.
Biotechnol Lett 22, 193–196.
Chang, J. H., Kim, Y. J., Lee, B. H., Cho, K.-S., Rye, H. W., Chang, Y. K.
& Chang, H. N. (2001). Production of a desulfurization biocatalyst by
two-stage fermentation and its application for the treatment of model
and diesel oils. Biotechnol Prog 17, 876–880.
Coco, W. M., Levinston, W. E., Crist, M. J., Hektor, H. J., Darzins, A.,
Pienkos, P. T., Squires, C. H. & Monticello, D. J. (2001). DNA
shuffling method for generating highly recombined genes and evolved
enzymes. Nat Biotechnol 19, 354–359.
Denis-Larose, C., Labbe, D., Nergron, H., Jones, A. M., Greer, C. W.,
Al-Hawari, J., Grossman, M. J., Sankey, B. M. & Lau, P. C. K.
(1997). Conservation of plasmid-encoded dibenzothiophene desulfurization
genes in several rhodococci. Appl Environ Microbiol 63,
2915–2919.
Denome, S. A., Olson, E. S. & Young, K. D. (1993a). Identification
and cloning of genes involved in specific desulfurization of
dibenzothiophene by Rhodococcus sp. strain IGTS8. Appl Environ
Microbiol 59, 2837–2843.
Denome, S. A., Stanley, D. C., Olson, E. S. & Young, K. D. (1993b).
Metabolism of dibenzothiophene and naphthalene in Pseudomonas
strains: complete DNA sequence of an upper naphthalene catabolic
pathway. J Bacteriol 175, 6890–6901.
Denome, S. A., Oldfield, C., Nash, L. J. & Young, K. D. (1994).
Characterization of the desulfurization genes from Rhodococcus sp.
strain IGTS8. J Bacteriol 176, 6707–6716
source: http://mic.sgmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/154/8/2169.pdf
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Help Me Help You: The question is as important as the answer
“He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked” -- Voltaire (French Philosopher and Writer, 1694-1778)
"Whether you can observe a thing or not depends on the theory which you use. It is the theory which decides what can be observed." -- Albert Einstein
Information Professionals, including Librarians, are trained in the art of the Reference Interview … a process whose purpose is to find out what the client is really looking for, rather than what he or she thinks he or she is looking for.
Sometimes the interview feels like an interrogation. But we are not trying to get you to incriminate yourself. We are trying to get past assumptions made by both parties to the interview which may lead us on the chase of a wild goose. And unless your goal is to catch a wild goose, the results will be unsatisfactory.
So if we seem a bit pushy when asking what you are trying to find, remember one word: TRUST. Trust that our intention is to help you identify and locate the information you need to conduct your research.
OK, enough with the lecture … now for a hypothetical.
Researcher A sends an email requesting a literature search on Topic B. We search the appropriate Dialog file and send him the results. After reviewing the abstracts, he complains that the articles are “too old.” We ask him to clarify the date range. In the clarification process, we discover that his true purpose is to identify experts on Topic B which he can contact as potential speakers in an upcoming desulfurization conference. His strategy is not bad … identify authors of papers in the field, then add them to the list. But we could have saved time and money by creating a search strategy designed to produce the results that were actually intended.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan liked to say “Trust but verify.” If you have a research request that is sensitive, tell your corporate librarian. Protecting client confidentiality is a part of the code of ethics subscribed to by all information professionals. If the request is so sensitive that you are unwilling to tell the librarian everything, let him or her know that, as well. We are adept at working around such obstacles to deliver the information required.
"Whether you can observe a thing or not depends on the theory which you use. It is the theory which decides what can be observed." -- Albert Einstein
Information Professionals, including Librarians, are trained in the art of the Reference Interview … a process whose purpose is to find out what the client is really looking for, rather than what he or she thinks he or she is looking for.
Sometimes the interview feels like an interrogation. But we are not trying to get you to incriminate yourself. We are trying to get past assumptions made by both parties to the interview which may lead us on the chase of a wild goose. And unless your goal is to catch a wild goose, the results will be unsatisfactory.
So if we seem a bit pushy when asking what you are trying to find, remember one word: TRUST. Trust that our intention is to help you identify and locate the information you need to conduct your research.
OK, enough with the lecture … now for a hypothetical.
Researcher A sends an email requesting a literature search on Topic B. We search the appropriate Dialog file and send him the results. After reviewing the abstracts, he complains that the articles are “too old.” We ask him to clarify the date range. In the clarification process, we discover that his true purpose is to identify experts on Topic B which he can contact as potential speakers in an upcoming desulfurization conference. His strategy is not bad … identify authors of papers in the field, then add them to the list. But we could have saved time and money by creating a search strategy designed to produce the results that were actually intended.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan liked to say “Trust but verify.” If you have a research request that is sensitive, tell your corporate librarian. Protecting client confidentiality is a part of the code of ethics subscribed to by all information professionals. If the request is so sensitive that you are unwilling to tell the librarian everything, let him or her know that, as well. We are adept at working around such obstacles to deliver the information required.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Biomedexperts: A Really Useful Social Network
“The value of a social network is defined not only by who's on it, but by who's excluded” -- Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley forecaster
Here is an article on biodesulfurization that is worth reading for two reasons … one, its description of the experimental use of Desulfobacterium indolicum to desulfurize kerosene. And two, because it introduces us to a remarkable social network called Biomedexperts (www.biomedexperts.com)
It is an indirect introduction … I found it when I Googled® S C U Nwachukwu
Here is the cite for the article in question …
Nature and Science, 2009;7(1)
Biodesulfurization of Kerosene by Desulfobacterium indolicum
Aribike D S
A A Susu
S C U Nwachukwu* & S A Kareem
Corresponding author: simoncyrill@yahoo.com
Read the full text of the article at …
www.sciencepub.net/nature/0701/05_0470_Biodesulfurization_ns.pdf
For a profile of corresponding author S C U Nwachukwu visit …
http://www.biomedexperts.com/Profile.bme/1034726/S_C_U_Nwachukwu
And while you’re there, click the Experts in Petroleum hyperlink (http://www.biomedexperts.com/Concept.bme/16438/Petroleum) where you will find a list of petroleum research experts. Each name on the list is hyperlinked to the corresponding profile.
Follow the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) for more tips and tricks on desulfurization research … or send an email to me, Jean Steinhardt at research@JeanSteinhardtConsulting.com. I will add you to the email distribution list for each post to the blog.
Here is an article on biodesulfurization that is worth reading for two reasons … one, its description of the experimental use of Desulfobacterium indolicum to desulfurize kerosene. And two, because it introduces us to a remarkable social network called Biomedexperts (www.biomedexperts.com)
It is an indirect introduction … I found it when I Googled® S C U Nwachukwu
Here is the cite for the article in question …
Nature and Science, 2009;7(1)
Biodesulfurization of Kerosene by Desulfobacterium indolicum
Aribike D S
A A Susu
S C U Nwachukwu* & S A Kareem
Corresponding author: simoncyrill@yahoo.com
Read the full text of the article at …
www.sciencepub.net/nature/0701/05_0470_Biodesulfurization_ns.pdf
For a profile of corresponding author S C U Nwachukwu visit …
http://www.biomedexperts.com/Profile.bme/1034726/S_C_U_Nwachukwu
And while you’re there, click the Experts in Petroleum hyperlink (http://www.biomedexperts.com/Concept.bme/16438/Petroleum) where you will find a list of petroleum research experts. Each name on the list is hyperlinked to the corresponding profile.
Follow the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) for more tips and tricks on desulfurization research … or send an email to me, Jean Steinhardt at research@JeanSteinhardtConsulting.com. I will add you to the email distribution list for each post to the blog.
Monday, March 1, 2010
iGoogle Tool: Arabic Keyboard
“The original is unfaithful to the translation.” -- Jorge Luis Borges (Argentinian Poet and Essayist, 1899-1986)
I’ve mentioned before that I can’t read or speak Arabic … dar n it. But when I worked for Aramco Services Company (http://www.aramcoservices.com/) I participated in a company sponsored introduction to the Arabic language. I came away with a knowledge of the Arabic alphabet.
Foreign languages have fascinated me since I was a kid. So every once in a while, I use the Arabic Keyboard, an iGoogle tool, to type in words I have found as I search the Internet for useful desulfurization items.
Of course, I can’t read the resulting pages, and the Google® translation is sometimes bizarre. But if you are fluent in the language, you might try it out.
You might recall an earlier post when I suggested that a handy search strategy for new developments in desulfurization is to search that word in conjunction with a company name, say, ExxonMobil for example. And it might be useful to do that search in Arabic, since so much of the world’s oil is located in Saudi Arabia and vicinity.
As it happens, you don’t even have to type in the Arabic characters. The Google® translation tool will provide the Arabic equivalent for you. Simply type in ExxonMobil, translate from English to Arabic, and voila, there it is! Copy and paste into the Google® search box, hit Enter and browse the results.
You can refine the search by translating “desulfurization” from English to Arabic, and copy and paste into the same search box containing the Arabic equivalent of ExxonMobil.
Have fun with it. Impress your friends. Let me know by email how it goes: research@JeanSteinhardtConsulting.com
I’ve mentioned before that I can’t read or speak Arabic … dar n it. But when I worked for Aramco Services Company (http://www.aramcoservices.com/) I participated in a company sponsored introduction to the Arabic language. I came away with a knowledge of the Arabic alphabet.
Foreign languages have fascinated me since I was a kid. So every once in a while, I use the Arabic Keyboard, an iGoogle tool, to type in words I have found as I search the Internet for useful desulfurization items.
Of course, I can’t read the resulting pages, and the Google® translation is sometimes bizarre. But if you are fluent in the language, you might try it out.
You might recall an earlier post when I suggested that a handy search strategy for new developments in desulfurization is to search that word in conjunction with a company name, say, ExxonMobil for example. And it might be useful to do that search in Arabic, since so much of the world’s oil is located in Saudi Arabia and vicinity.
As it happens, you don’t even have to type in the Arabic characters. The Google® translation tool will provide the Arabic equivalent for you. Simply type in ExxonMobil, translate from English to Arabic, and voila, there it is! Copy and paste into the Google® search box, hit Enter and browse the results.
You can refine the search by translating “desulfurization” from English to Arabic, and copy and paste into the same search box containing the Arabic equivalent of ExxonMobil.
Have fun with it. Impress your friends. Let me know by email how it goes: research@JeanSteinhardtConsulting.com
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