Prospects and Challenges of Palestinian Logistics System

Hassouna, Abdallah M.A.,Kim, Hyun-Duk The Korea Port Economic Association 2013 韓國港灣經濟學會誌 Vol.29 No.1

The purpose of this paper is to shed the light on one of the most important influential factors for the development the Palestinian economy, which is logistics system. The discussion about the Palestinian state and its economy arise after the UN General Assembly voted to grant Palestine a nonmember state. Palestine is considered land-locked country, although it has seashore. Although Palestine has seashore, it is considered land-locked country due to the lack of sovereign logistics infrastructure. International Trade with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt is done through land border crossings. Palestinian international trade to European, Asian, and American countries is currently done through Israeli airports and seaports. Almost 99% of the Palestinian imports are through land. Israeli policies and procedures incur Palestinian exports additional transportation costs when delivering their products to Israeli ports and Airport and even when transit these cargos to neighboring countries through Israeli controlled areas. Therefore, without direct access to international markets, the Palestinian economy will not be able to compete in international markets, and will continue its dependence on the Israeli economy. Considering that the current situation will continue, alternative routes for international trade to avoid using the Israeli ports are Aqaba Port in Jordan and Port Said in Egypt. In the long term, having a seaport and Airport in Gaza, Airport in the West Bank, and constructing the Corridor connecting Gaza and the West Bank, is the only solution capable for independently integrating the Palestinian economy with the region and other countries in the world, and therefore creating competitive advantage for the Palestinian exports.

Gaza Seaport as a Way to Enhance the Palestinian Economic Development

Hassouna Abdallah,Nam Ki-Chan Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research 2005 한국항해항만학회지 Vol.29 No.9

The purpose of this paper is to present some main economic factors which influence Gaza Seaport. Without direct access to the international market, the Palestinian economy will continue its dependence on Israeli economy mainly in employment, transport facilitation, and international trade. The greatest potential for Palestinian economic growth lies in trade. The port is important for creating new job opportunities, and for enhancing exporting capabilities, which are the most essential elements for development of the Palestinian economy. Israeli policies and procedures incur Palestinian exporters additional transportation costs when delivering their products to Israeli Ports or when transit these products to neighboring countries through Israeli controlled area. The public profit for the port is greater than the private profit. Therefore, constructing the port will have a great effect on the Palestinian economy. There are many challenges facing the port, some of them are the political stability, the economies of scale, and Israeli security measures and procedures.

Gaza Seaport as a Way to Enhance the Palestinian Economic Development

Abdallah Hassouna,Ki-Chan Nam 한국항해항만학회 2005 한국항해항만학회지 Vol.29 No.9

The purpose of this paper is to present some main economic factors which influence Gaza Seaport. Without direct access to the international market, the Palestinian economy will continue its dependence on Israeli economy mainly in employment, transport facilitation, and international trade. The greatest potential for Palestinian economic growth lies in trade. The port is important for creating new job opportunities, and for enhancing exporting capabilities, which are the most essential elements for development of the Palestinian economy. Israeli policies and procedures incur Palestinian exporters additional transportation costs when delivering their products to Israeli Ports or when transit these products to neighboring countries through Israeli controlled area. The public profit for the port is greater than the private profit. Therefore, constructing the port will have a great effect on the Palestinian economy. There are many challenges facing the port, some of them are the political stability, the economies of scale, and Israeli security measures and procedures.

Prospects and Challenges of Palestinian Logistics System

Abdallah Hassouna,김현덕 한국항만경제학회 2013 韓國港灣經濟學會誌 Vol.29 No.1

The purpose of this paper is to shed the light on one of the most important influential factors for the development the Palestinian economy, which is logistics system. The discussion about the Palestinian state and its economy arise after the UN General Assembly voted to grant Palestine a nonmember state. Palestine is considered land-locked country, although it has seashore. Although Palestine has seashore, it is considered land-locked country due to the lack of sovereign logistics infrastructure. International Trade with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt is done through land border crossings. Palestinian international trade to European, Asian, and American countries is currently done through Israeli airports and seaports. Almost 99% of the Palestinian imports are through land. Israeli policies and procedures incur Palestinian exports additional transportation costs when delivering their products to Israeli ports and Airport and even when transit these cargos to neighboring countries through Israeli controlled areas. Therefore, without direct access to international markets, the Palestinian economy will not be able to compete in international markets, and will continue its dependence on the Israeli economy. Considering that the current situation will continue, alternative routes for international trade to avoid using the Israeli ports are Aqaba Port in Jordan and Port Said in Egypt. In the long term, having a seaport and Airport in Gaza, Airport in the West Bank, and constructing the Corridor connecting Gaza and the West Bank, is the only solution capable for independently integrating the Palestinian economy with the region and other countries in the world, and therefore creating competitive advantage for the Palestinian exports.

Prospects and Challenges of Palestinian Logistics System

ABDALLAH M.A. HASSOUNA,Hyun-Duk Kim 한국항만경제학회 2013 韓國港灣經濟學會誌 Vol.29 No.1

The purpose of this paper is to shed the light on one of the most important influential factors for the development the Palestinian economy, which is logistics system. The discussion about the Palestinian state and its economy mise after the UN General Assembly voted to grant Palestine a nonmember state. Palestine is considered land-locked country, although it has seashore. Although Palestine has seashore, it is considered land-locked country due to the lack of sovereign logistics infrastructure. International Trade with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt is done through land border crossings. Palestinian international trade to European, Asian, and American countries is currently done through Israeli airports and seaports. Almost 99% of the Palestinian imports are through land. Israeli policies and procedures incur Palestinian exports additional transportation costs when delivering their products to Israeli ports and Airport and even when transit these cargos to neighboring countries through Israeli controlled areas. Therefore, without direct access to international markets, the Palestinian economy will not be able to compete in international markets, and will continue its dependence on the Israeli economy. Considering that the current situation will continue, alternative routes for international trade to avoid using the Israeli ports are Aqaba Port in Jordan and Port Said in Egypt. In the long term, having a seaport and Airport in Gaza, Airport in the West Bank, and constructing the Corridor connecting Gaza and the West Bank, is the only solution capable for independently integrating the Palestinian economy with the region and other countries in the world, and therefore creating competitive advantage for the Palestinian exports.

튀니지 올리브와 올리브 오일 생산 현황

Sofiane Abdelhamid,Hassouna Gouta,Mariem Gharsallaoui,Mohamed Ghrab,Taek-Ryoun Kwon,In-Sun Yoon,Myung Ok Byun 韓國國際農業開發學會 2013 韓國國際農業開發學會誌 Vol.25 No.4

This review highlights the current status of Tunisian olive production, challenges facing the sector and opportunities available. Olive, a fruit tree native to Mediterranean countries, is the subject of increased international interest for olive oil production for the global food market. Olive and olive oil production in Tunisia are of great socio-economic importance, with more than 70 millions olive trees including a wide range of cultivars and represents the third important leg in fruit production. Tunisia is the 4th largest producer of olive oil in the world and oil exports represent 40% of the overall value of agronomic exports and 5.5 % of aggregate exports, making it the fifth largest source of foreign currency earnings for the country. However, the actual production of olive oil could be increased by the entire contributors in the sector and by the monitoring by government extension services. Almost 2 out of 3 farmers grow olives in the country. The crop is spread over areas from the northern to the southern regions, where a wide range of edaphon-climatic conditions prevail, from lower semi-arid to arid conditions and receiving annually less than 250 mm of rain-fall (IOOC, 2003). So far, most of the production has been done using traditional techniques and under rainfed conditions. This translates into extremely erratic production levels depending on the year. The major challenges for olive production and for Tunisian producers are to improve fruit and oil quality in order to maintain their competitiveness on the international oil market and to meet consumer demands. The major opportunity available to develop Tunisian olive sector is primarily the improvement of yields, the raising of productivity and oil quality and meet the recent boom in demand for olive oil and table olive around the world.

Characterization and selection of Lactobacillus plantarum species isolated from dry fermented sausage reformulated with camel meat and hump fat

Mejri, Lobna,Hassouna, Mnasser The Korean Society for Applied Biological Chemistr 2016 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.59 No.4

A total of 29 strains of Lactobacillus plantarum, isolated from traditional dry fermented camel sausages and identified by biochemical and molecular methods, were characterized by their technological and safety properties including acidifying capacity, proteolytic activity, and antimicrobial and antibiotic resistance in order to select the most suitable for use as starter cultures in combination with coagulase-negative staphylococci to improve and standardize the safety and quality of sausages. All the Lb. plantarum were able to hydrolyze casein and some strains showed very weak lipolytic activity. Moreover, all isolates showed acidifying activity by reducing pH to less than 4.3 at 15 and $25^{\circ}C$ after 72 h. Related to safety aspects, the totality of Lb. plantarum was resistant to tetracycline, gentamicin, and kanamycin. A large majority of strains exhibited antimicrobial activities against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Aeromonas hydrophila.

Percutaneous Nerve Evaluation Test Versus Staged Test Trials for Sacral Neuromodulation: Sensitivity, Specificity, and Predictive Values of Each Technique

Mai Banakhar,Magdy Hassouna 대한배뇨장애요실금학회 2016 International Neurourology Journal Vol.20 No.3

Purpose: InterStim device is an U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved minimal invasive therapy for sacral neuromodulation for lower urinary tract dysfunction. Before InterStim implantation, a trial with the appropriate screening tests is required to determine patient therapy eligibility. There are two different techniques for patient screening: percutaneous nerve evaluation (PNE) test and staged test. Few studies have reported success and failure rates for each technique. However, test sensitivity and predictive values of either test have not been studied. The aim of our study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of each test and to establish a decision algorithm for the most appropriate testing method to be used as a screening test. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2009 to February 2012 and included patients with lower urinary tract dysfunction who participated in the stimulation test trial. Patients underwent PNE as the first stimulation test, while those who encountered technical difficulty during PNE or electrode migration underwent staged testing. Results: A total of 213 patients, including 172 female and 41 male subjects, underwent PNE. The patients’ diagnoses included refractory overactive bladder (47.9%), nonobstructive urinary retention (29.6%), and frequency urgency syndrome (22.1%). A total of 202 patients were screened with PNE and 10 patients with staged testing. Overall sensitivity of PNE was 87.3%, and it was 90% for staged test. PNE specificity was 98.5% as compared to 92.9% for staged test. Positive and negative predictive values for PNE were 99% and 82.1% and for staged test were 90% and 92.9%, respectively. Conclusions: PNE test has high specificity and positive predictive value. We recommend PNE, a simple office-based, less expensive procedure as the first option for screening.

Characterization and selection of Lactobacillus plantarum species isolated from dry fermented sausage reformulated with camel meat and hump fat

Lobna Mejri,Mnasser Hassouna 한국응용생명화학회 2016 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.59 No.4

A total of 29 strains of Lactobacillus plantarum, isolated from traditional dry fermented camel sausages and identified by biochemical and molecular methods, were characterized by their technological and safety properties including acidifying capacity, proteolytic activity, and antimicrobial and antibiotic resistance in order to select the most suitable for use as starter cultures in combination with coagulase-negative staphylococci to improve and standardize the safety and quality of sausages. All the Lb. plantarum were able to hydrolyze casein and some strains showed very weak lipolytic activity. Moreover, all isolates showed acidifying activity by reducing pH to less than 4.3 at 15 and 25 °C after 72 h. Related to safety aspects, the totality of Lb. plantarum was resistant to tetracycline, gentamicin, and kanamycin. A large majority of strains exhibited antimicrobial activities against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Aeromonas hydrophila.

Sacral Neuromodulation in Patients With a Cardiac Pacemaker

Abdullah A. Gahzi,Dean S. Elterman,Magdy Hassouna 대한배뇨장애요실금학회 2016 International Neurourology Journal Vol.20 No.3

The objective of this study was to describe our experience using sacral neuromodulation to treat urinary urgency, frequency, urge incontinence, and chronic urinary retention in patients with cardiac pacemakers. With the increasingly widespread use of InterStim for bladder function restoration, we are seeing more complex patients with multiple comorbidities, including cardiac conditions. Herein, we report 3 cases of individuals with cardiac pacemakers who underwent InterStim implantation to treat urinary conditions. This study is a case series of 3 patients with cardiac pacemakers who underwent sacral neuromodulation to treat refractory voiding dysfunction. The initial patient screening for InterStim therapy involved percutaneous nerve evaluation (PNE), in which a temporary untined lead wire was placed through the S3 foramen. Patients who did not respond to PNE proceeded to a staged implant. All patients in this study had a greater than 50% improvement of their urinary symptoms during the initial trial and underwent placement of the InterStim implantable pulse generator (IPG). Postoperative programming was done under electrocardiogram monitoring by a cardiologist. No interference was observed between the Inter- Stim IPG and the cardiac pacemaker. In this group of patients, sacral neuromodulation in the presence of a cardiac pacemaker appears to have been safe.