The Omani sandfish sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra Jaeger, 1833 (Holothuroidea: Holothuriidae): Fishery, length-Weight relationship and condition factor

The fishery of Omani sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra, is limited so far to the Mahout Bay in Al Wusta governorate. This fishery supports an uncertain number of fishermen ranging from 100 to 150. This fishery is not well-studied and has no current management program. In order to prepare a management strategy, the government has suspended this fishery for 2 years from March 2018 to March 2021. Apart from presenting a thorough review on the sea cucumber fishery in Oman, the current work presents a detailed analysis of the length–weight relationship, sex ratio, and condition factor of the H. scabra collected from four different areas during the period February-May 2019. Based on the results, the females were longer than males, that is 226±33.4 and 221±37.8 mm, respectively. The overall sex ratio of the entire/pooled sample was 0.49 which was not different from the anticipated theoretical sex ratio of 0.5. The mean Kn and the empirical weight–length equations for the total sample were between 0.12±0.01 and 1.0±0.16, and W=0.03L1.6, respectively

First record of the Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus orientalis (Temminck Schlegel, 1844) from the coast off Sur, Sultanate of Oman

A single specimen of the Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus orientalis was caught on 11 May 2017 in a long-line operated about 40 nautical miles off the coast of Sur atconfluent of Sea of Oman and Arabian Sea coast of Oman. This first record of its occurrence indicates the extension of distributional range of the species to the Arabian Sea coast of Oman

Сравнительный анализ финансовых показателей крупнейших банков стран Персидского залива во время пандемии

This paper investigates the financial performance of the largest Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) banks by total assets before and during the recent COVID‑19 pandemic. The purpose of the study was to identify the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic on banks’ financial performance. Financial ratios analysis during the period 2017–2020 is employed to measure the financial performance of the largest GCC banks mainly based in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain. The ratios cover key performance areas such as profitability, efficiency, liquidity, asset quality, asset risk, and expense management. Two significant developments in 2020 are the COVID‑19 pandemic and severe drop in oil prices, both of which led to a sharp drop in the region’s GDP growth rate from an average of –0.09% in year 2019 to –5.9% in 2020, which in turn is expected to negatively impact bank performance. Using paired samples t-test the research study found statistically significant results that the financial performance of all banks suffered on almost all the key parameters in 2020 compared to the earlier period which can explained by the decline in economic activity due to COVID‑19. The focus of this study and its conclusions are novel to the extent that there are no country specific studies related to impact of COVID 19 on the biggest banks in a country. Further as far as the authors know there are no studies on the topic of impact of COVID‑19 on big banks operating in the Gulf cooperation council countries. The conclusions of the study would of importance to the regulators who would not like the big banks to fail.Авторы исследуют финансовые показатели крупнейших банков стран, входящих в Совет сотрудничества арабских государств Персидского залива (ССАГПЗ), по общей сумме активов до и во время пандемии COVID‑19. Цель исследования — определить, как повлияла пандемия COVID‑19 на финансовые показатели банков. Использован метод анализа финансовых коэффициентов за период 2017–2020 гг. для оценки финансовых показателей крупнейших банков стран, расположенных в основном в Саудовской Аравии, Катаре, Объединенных Арабских Эмиратах, Кувейте, Омане и Бахрейне. Коэффициенты охватывают такие ключевые области деятельности, как рентабельность, эффективность, ликвидность, качество активов, риск активов и управление расходами. Два значимых события в 2020 г. — пандемия COVID‑19 и резкое падение цен на нефть — привели к резкому снижению темпов роста ВВП региона со среднего значения –0,09% в 2019 г. до –5,9% в 2020 г., что, как ожидается, негативно скажется на показателях деятельности банков. Используя парный выборочный t-тест, авторы получили статистически значимые результаты, подтверждающие вывод, что финансовые показатели всех банков в 2020 г. пострадали почти по всем ключевым параметрам по сравнению с предыдущим периодом. Это можно объяснить снижением экономической активности из-за COVID‑19. Фокус данного исследования и его выводы обладают научной новизной, поскольку тема влияния COVID‑19 на крупнейшие банки стран ССАГПЗ еще не получила отражения в научных работах. Выводы исследования важны для регулирующих органов, которые не заинтересованы в том, чтобы крупные банки потерпели крах

Predictive Ability of Emotional Support Resources, Birth Order, Gender, and Grade in Cyberbullying among Gifted Adolescents in Jordan and the Sultanate of Oman: A Comparative Study

هدفت الدراسة الحالية إلى الكشف عن القدرة التنبؤية لمصادر الدعم العاطفي والترتيب الميلادي والجنس والصف في التنمر الإلكتروني بين المراهقين الموهوبين في الأردن وسلطنة عمان. كما هدفت إلى التعرف على الفروق إن وجدت في التنمر الإلكتروني (المتنمر، الضحية) حسب المصادر المختلفة للدعم العاطفي، والترتيب الميلادي، والجنس، والصف لدى عينة من المراهقين الأردنيين والعمانيين. وقد شملت عينة الدراسة (340) طالبًا وطالبة من الموهوبين في الأردن وسلطنة عمان، وقد تراوحت أعمارهم بين 13 و15 عامًا. ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة تم اتباع المنهج الوصفي الارتباطي التنبؤي، وتم استخدام مقياس التنمر الإلكتروني (المتنمر والضحية)، ومقياس الدعم العاطفي المدرك المقدم من (الأهل والأصدقاء) بعد التحقق من خصائصهم السيكومتربة. وقد أشارت النتائج إلى إمكانية التنبؤ بالتنمر الإلكتروني (الضحية) من خلال الدعم العاطفي المدرك المقدم من الأهل ومن خلال جنس الطالب. أما بالنسبة للتنمر الإلكتروني (المتنمر)، فقد أشارت النتائج إلى عدم إمكانية التنبؤ به من الدعم العاطفي المدرك المقدم من (الأهل والأصدقاء) والجنس والترتيب الميلادي والصف، كما أشارت النتائج إلى وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية في التنمر الإلكتروني (الضحية) باختلاف الجنس ولصالح الإناث وللذكور في التنمر الإلكتروني (المتنمر). وبهذا فقد أكدت النتائج إمكانية التنبؤ بالعديد من المتغيرات النفسية والشخصية، مثل الدعم العاطفي المدرك المقدم من الأهل والجنس، واحتمال أن يكون للجنس دور في التنمر الإلكتروني (الضحية)، مما يساهم في فهم المزيد من العوامل النفسية والمعرفية والشخصية. والجوانب الاجتماعية المتعلقة بسلوك التنمر الإلكتروني، والحاجة إلى تركيز البحث على معرفة الدوافع الكامنة وراء سلوك التنمر الإلكتروني وتحديد الرغبات والسلبيات التي يسعى المتسلط لتحقيقها، وتأثير ذلك على المتنمر الإلكتروني والآخرينThe current study aimed to reveal the predictive ability of the emotional support resources, birth order, gender and grade in cyberbullying among gifted adolescents in Jordan and Oman. It also aimed to identify the differences, if any, in electronic bullying (bully, victim) according to the different sources of the emotional support, birth order, gender and grade among a sample of Jordanian and Omani adolescents. The study participants were 340 gifted students from Jordan and Oman, ranging from 13 to 15 years old. The Cyberbullying (bully, victim) and the perceived emotional support scale (family and friends) were used and appropriate methods verified their validity and reliability indicators. The results indicated the possibility of predicting cyberbullying (victim) through the perceived emotional support provided by the family and the student's gender. As for cyberbullying (bully), the results indicated its unpredictability to perceived emotional support from (family and friends), gender, birth order and grade. In addition, significant differences in cyber-bullying (victim) were found in favor of females and males in cyberbullying (bully). The results confirmed the predictive ability of several psychological and personal variables, such as perceived emotional support provided by family and gender and the possibility that gender might have a role in cyberbullying (the victim), which contributes to understanding more psychological, cognitive, personal and social aspects related to cyberbullying behavior, and the need to focus research on knowing the motives behind cyberbullying behavior and on identifying the desires and negatives that the bully seeks to achieve, and the effects of this on the cyberbully and others

Effectiveness of an Interactive Educational Video on Knowledge, Skill, and Satisfaction of Nursing Students

Objectives: Nursing education requires innovative teaching strategies for learning fundamental nursing skills to develop proficient nurses for the future. However, nursing educators face challenges in teaching and retaining the skill competency and knowledge of the nursing students given shortages of nursing faculty and scarcity of opportunities for clinical practice. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the interactive educational video-based strategy versus traditional general demonstration for teaching a basic nursing skill. Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study followed 55 nursing students enrolled in a fundamentals of nursing laboratory course during the Spring 2020 semester, at the College of Nursing of Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. The control group was subjected to traditional general demonstration-based teaching of the oral medication procedure, while the experimental group learned the same skill through an interactive educational video. The knowledge, skill competency and satisfaction levels of both groups were assessed post-intervention using standardized questionnaires. Results: There was no statistical difference between the two groups in knowledge level and skill competency scores. Regarding satisfaction, 92% of the students were satisfied with video learning and 87% with the traditional approach. Conclusion: It is evident that the interactive video learning strategy for learning fundamental nursing skills is as effective as the traditional face-to-face general demonstration-based approach.Keywords: Nursing, Video, Knowledge, Satisfaction, Education, Teaching, Oman

First record of Gymnocranius griseus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (family Lethrinidae) from southern Oman, Western Indian Ocean

Primer registre de Gymnocranius griseus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (família Lethrinidae) del sud d’Oman, oest de l’oceà Índic Es va recol·lectar un únic espècimen (285 mm longitud estàndard) de Gymnocranius griseus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) a la ciutat de Salalah (Oman), a la costa del mar d’Aràbia. És el primer registre d’aquesta espècie a les aigües d’Oman. Presenta característiques específiques: cos alt (2,17 vegades la longitud estàndard); els perfils dorsal i ventral del cap són uniformement convexos; el perfil de la part ventral del cos és recte; la vora inferior de l’ull se situa lleugerament per sota de la línia que uneix la part anterior de la boca amb el centre de l’aleta caudal lobulada; l’ull és relativament ample, de diàmetre pràcticament igual o lleugerament superior a les distàncies preorbitària i interorbitària; la boca és relativament petita i la part posterior dels maxil·lars arriba pràcticament al nivell dels orificis nasals anteriors; presenta tres parells de fines canines a la part anterior del maxil·lar superior i un parell a la part anterior de l’inferior, com també altres dents vil·liformes que adquireixen forma cònica a les parts laterals. L’espècimen va ser identificat com un G. griseus atès que les seves característiques corresponen a la descripció diagnòstica de Carpenter & Allen (1989). Palabras clave: Gymnocranius griseus, Salalah, Mar de Arabia, Primer registro.A single specimen (285 mm SL) of Gymnocranius griseus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) was collected from Salalah, Arabian Sea coast of Oman. It is the first record of this species from the Omani waters. It shows specific characters: deep body (2.17 times SL); evenly convex dorsal and ventral profile of head; ventral part of body profile straight; lower edge of eye slightly above a line from tip of snout to middle of caudal fin fork; eye relatively large, its diameter about equal to or slightly larger than preorbital and interorbital widths; mouth relatively small, posterior part of jaws reaching to about level of anterior nostrils; three pair and one pair of slender canines at front of upper and lower jaw, respectively, other teeth villiform, becoming conical on lateral sections. The specimen was identified as G. griseus as these characters fit the diagnostic description of Carpenter & Allen (1989). Key words: Gymnocranius griseus, Salalah, Arabian Sea, First record.Primer registre de Gymnocranius griseus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (família Lethrinidae) del sud d’Oman, oest de l’oceà Índic Es va recol·lectar un únic espècimen (285 mm longitud estàndard) de Gymnocranius griseus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) a la ciutat de Salalah (Oman), a la costa del mar d’Aràbia. És el primer registre d’aquesta espècie a les aigües d’Oman. Presenta característiques específiques: cos alt (2,17 vegades la longitud estàndard); els perfils dorsal i ventral del cap són uniformement convexos; el perfil de la part ventral del cos és recte; la vora inferior de l’ull se situa lleugerament per sota de la línia que uneix la part anterior de la boca amb el centre de l’aleta caudal lobulada; l’ull és relativament ample, de diàmetre pràcticament igual o lleugerament superior a les distàncies preorbitària i interorbitària; la boca és relativament petita i la part posterior dels maxil·lars arriba pràcticament al nivell dels orificis nasals anteriors; presenta tres parells de fines canines a la part anterior del maxil·lar superior i un parell a la part anterior de l’inferior, com també altres dents vil·liformes que adquireixen forma cònica a les parts laterals. L’espècimen va ser identificat com un G. griseus atès que les seves característiques corresponen a la descripció diagnòstica de Carpenter & Allen (1989). Palabras clave: Gymnocranius griseus, Salalah, Mar de Arabia, Primer registro

An Atomistic-Based Continuum Modeling for Evaluation of Effective Elastic Properties of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

The mechanical behavior of SWCNTs is characterized using an atomistic-based continuum method. At nanoscale, interatomic energy among carbon atoms and the corresponding force constants are defined. Subsequently, we used an atomistic finite element analysis to calculate the energy stored in the SWCNT model, which forms a basis for calculating effective elastic moduli. In the finite element model, the force interaction among carbon atoms in a SWCNT is modeled using load-carrying structural beams. At macroscale, the SWCNT is taken as cylindrical continuum solid with transversely isotropic mechanical properties. Equivalence of energies of both models establishes a framework to calculate effective elastic moduli of armchair and zigzag nanotubes. This is achieved by solving five boundary value problems under distinct essential-controlled boundary conditions, which generates a prescribed uniform strain field in both models. Elastic constants are extracted from the calculated elastic moduli. While results of Young’s modulus obtained in this study generally concur with the published theoretical and numerical predictions, values of Poisson’s ratio are on the high side

Emergency medicine in Oman: current status and future challenges

The Sultanate of Oman has a relatively young national health care system that could demonstrate its high performance at an international level. Emergency medicine as a specialty has developed rapidly in the country over the last decade. This has involved the parallel development of local emergency residency training, prehospital emergency care, and emergency nursing programs. This article reviews the progress of emergency care practice in this country from a general primary care system toward becoming an established specialty in hospital, prehospital, and private emergency care settings. It also describes aspects of undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuous emergency medicine education in the country. Further, a glimpse into academic emergency medicine and emergency nursing is provided. Since it describes a developing specialty, the article also attempts to address briefly major future challenges and their importance to the future development of the specialty in Oman

Biotic and Abiotic Stresses of Major Fruit Crops in Oman: A Review

Oman is located in an arid region of the world that is characterized by adverse climatic conditions, including heat and drought. In recent years, it has also been affected by climate turbulence and the occurrence of severe weather, such as cyclones and heat/cold waves affecting large agricultural areas of the country. Fruit cultivation area represents 31% of the total cultivated area (97,239.58 ha) in the country. However, the production share is only 17% of the total crop production in the country (2.6 million tons). About 90% of the fruit cultivation area is dominated by date palm, banana, lime, and mango. In addition to the abiotic stresses, such as drought, heat, and salinity, major fruit crops have declined in recent years due to various biotic stressors, primarily insect pests, and diseases. For several decades, the date palm has suffered from the Dubas bug and in recent years from Red Palm Weevil. Lime has been infected with Witch’s Broom Disease of Lime (WBDL) caused by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia’ that has led to the decline of production to 25% from its peak in the nineties. Banana is Oman`s second-largest fruit crop in production and export. It has also been the subject of studies due to losses incurred by farmers during pre-and post-harvest stages, in addition to several pests and diseases that affect bananas in Oman. Mango is another major fruit crop that is primarily cultivated in northern Oman. Severe infection with mango decline has led to the eradication of mango orchards from many regions of Oman, particularly in Batinah Coast, where increased salinity has led to a decline in mango yield. Research conducted in Oman has investigated several aspects of these challenges. This review paper summarizes the outcome from studies conducted in the country and proposes directions towards resolving current and future challenges to the fruit industry