Search

The objective of the research was to find out the key factors that influence the acceptance and usage of cloud computing systems in the Omani higher education sector, with special emphasis on the COVID-19 outbreak. For this purpose, a quantitative research approach was conducted where 200 students from several Omani higher education institutions were surveyed, and by using Partial Least Square (PLS) to analysis the collected data. The findings revealed that the intention to use cloud computing in this context is significantly dependent on its perceived ease of use, usefulness, perceived reliability and responsiveness. It is noteworthy that this is one of the early studies that address the subject of cloud computing usage during times of crises, and specifically the COVID-19 outbreak. As such, it provides significant contributions in the area of technology adoption.

Introduction Actinomycosis is an uncommon inflammatory bacterial disease caused by Actinomyces species, especially Actinomyces Israeli. Abdominopelvic forms are relatively rare and may involve the colon as a solid mass, mimicking a malignant tumor. Case presentation A 68-year-old Tunisian man, with a history of diabetes, hypertension, penicillin allergy, and renal failure, presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain, vomiting, and bowel obstruction. CT scan showed an acute intestinal obstruction upstream with obstructive tissular mass at the sigmoid colon. Emergency surgery revealed a sigmoid mass and a pre-perforative cecum. Subtotal colectomy was performed, with ileostomy and distal end closure. Histological examination confirmed Actinomyces infection. The patient was then placed on long-term doxycycline and Bactrim, with no recurrence over a 9-month follow-up period. Conclusion Abdominal actinomycosis, though rare, presents diagnostic challenges. It can be mistaken for malignancy, leading to unnecessary surgery in non-complicated cases, since it is effectively treated by antibiotics. In complicated cases, a combined approach involving both surgery and antibiotic therapy is necessary until the infection is completely eradicated.

Background Surgical site infection (SSI), albeit infrequent, drastically impacts the quality of care. This article endeavors to investigate the predictive factors of SSIs following surgical interventions that involve the gastrointestinal (GI) tract within a single institution in a resource-limited setting. Methods Over seven years from June 2015 to June 2022, patients who underwent GI surgery and developed SSI were retrospectively matched with an unaffected case-control cohort of patients. Standardized techniques for wound culture, laboratory evaluation of bacterial isolates, and antibiotic susceptibility tests were employed. Logistic regression analysis was utilized to investigate the predictive factors associated with 30-day postoperative SSI occurrence. Results A total of 525 patients who underwent GI surgical procedures were included, among whom, 86 (16.4%) developed SSI and the majority of SSIs were superficial (74.4%). Escherichia coli was the most commonly isolated bacterium (54.4%), and a high percentage of multidrug-resistant organisms were observed (63.8%). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, illiteracy (Odds ratio [OR]:40.31; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.54-170.26), smoking (OR: 21.15; 95% CI: 4.63-96.67), diabetes (OR: 5.07; 95% CI: 2.27-11.35), leukocytosis (OR: 2.62; 95% CI: 1.24-5.53), hypoalbuminemia (OR: 3.70; 95% CI: 1.35-10.16), contaminated and dirty wounds (OR: 6.51; 95% CI:1.62-26.09), longer operation duration (OR: 1.02; 95% CI: 1.01-1.03), emergency operations (OR: 12.58; 95% CI: 2.91-54.30), and extending antibiotic prophylaxis duration (OR: 3.01; 95% CI: 1.28-7.10) were the independent risk factors for SSI (all p Conclusions This study highlights significant predictors of SSI, including illiteracy, smoking, diabetes, leukocytosis, hypoalbuminemia, contaminated and dirty wounds, longer operative time, emergency operations, and extending antibiotic prophylaxis duration. Identifying these risk factors can help surgeons adopt appropriate measures to reduce postoperative SSI and improve the quality of surgical care, especially in a resource-limited setting with no obvious and strict policy for reducing SSI.

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences in Omani 10th-grade students' perception of their science teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in both realities and as they desired. Two versions of electronic questionnaires consisting of sixteen main items were designed to achieve the aims of this study. These two versions were administrated to 1445 randomly selected students from various schools at four educational governorates in Oman. For the first version, 46.7% of the participants were female students and 53.3% were male students; whereas, for the second version, 54.7% were female and 45.3% were male. The results showed that Omani male students gave a higher appreciation of "the actual PCK" in most elements compared to female students for "the actual pedagogical knowledge of their teachers" except for two elements which were "fun and simple in their personality" and "inform students' parents about their progress and achievement in science". This estimation seemed to be unrealistic for male students because it did not reflect their real achievement. The results also demonstrated variation in preferences related to the learning environment between male and female students. Male students preferred a competitive environment, while female students preferred a collaborative and open environment. In the light of current research's results, some recommendations were proposed such as conducting teacher training programs about supportive learning environments in their classroom and doing furthermore studies related to PCK in the science field.

To improve the competitiveness of industry in Tunisia and Morocco, local authorities have adopted strategies to support industrial companies in modernizing their value-adding infrastructures. A sustained effort has been dedicated to encouraging industrial organizations to embrace the Industry 4.0 paradigm and technologies. Despite these continued efforts, engaging with Industry 4.0 is still difficult in countries like Tunisia and Morocco, particularly because industrial organizations struggle to find fresh graduates on the job market who are both skilled and qualified in Industry 4.0 operations. The contribution of this article is to initiate a process to better understand and assess the gap between industrial needs and academic offer with respect to Industry 4.0 skills and qualifications, considering the specificities of Tunisia and Morocco. We particularly focus on analyzing to what extent existing curricula in engineering education institutions satisfy or miss industrial needs and requirements in three core industrial business processes: maintenance, production, and quality (MPQ4.0). Therefore, a survey was conducted, from which a set of MPQ4.0 targeted skills and competencies were extracted and synthesized. Based on these skills and competencies, sample engineering education curricula are analyzed, gaps are identified, and recommendations for improvement are offered.

The aim of the study is to investigate Omani science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) from the perceptions of their students. A questionnaire with two versions consisting of 16 main items was used to assess these perceptions. In addition, a focus group interview was conducted to other participants. The questionnaire was administered to 1,400 Omani 10th grade students using a convenient method of sampling. The findings indicated that the level of agreement between what teachers practiced in reality and what their students preferred, overall, is very good. From the study results, there are two major issues in the PCK of Omani science teachers: one is related to traditionalism, abstraction and centrality of examination in science teaching and the other one is students' passiveness during the learning process. The study recommended more use of student-centred teaching and learning methods such as project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, problem solving and role-playing.