User Guide for Procurement of Works—Small Contracts: Standard Bidding Document

This User’s Guide is intended to provide guidance to borrowers on how to prepare a bidding document for unit price or lump sum types of small works contracts that incorporate postqualification, and how to evaluate bids and award contracts based on the Asian Development Bank’s Standard Bidding Document for the Procurement of Works, Small Contracts.

Valuation of construction work on architectural heritage and its influence on project implementation decision

The article deals with the description of the methodology for determining the prices of construction work used most often in the reconstruction of historic buildings. The procedure is based on parametric estimating of buildings and on traditional tools and principles of pricing. The historic building is divided into structural parts and technological units. Structural elements are individually valued at the unit price, which was created on the basis of sub-budget. Very strict rules are set for the financing of cultural monuments and the method of valuation is based on the price systems’ methodology. The research also included an analysis of market prices and a subsequent comparison with indicative prices. Proper estimate of historic buildings’ reconstruction cost is also an important input for the decision-making process regarding the actual implementation of the project, its method of execution and its life cycle cost determination.

Techno-Economic Analysis on an Industrial-Scale Production System of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from Cheese By-Products by Halophiles

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are a family of biodegradable plastics used as an ecofriendly alternative for conventional plastics in various applications. In this study, an industrial-scale PHA production system was designed and analyzed for the material flows and economics with the use of SuperPro Designer. Haloferax mediterranei was utilized to produce poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV). Byproduct streams from a local cheese plant, with an input of 168.7 metric ton/day (MT/day) lactose, were used as the feedstock. Three scenarios with different processes for the treatments of used enzyme and spent medium were investigated and the major factors that influence the overall economics were identified. The simulated system produces 9700 MT/year PHBV with a yield of 0.2 g PHBV/g lactose and an overall process efficiency of 87%. The breakeven price was found to be more sensitive to the lactose price than enzyme price. The scenario with enzyme reuse and spent medium recycling achieved the lowest breakeven price among others, which can be less than 4 $/kg PHA based on the delactosed permeate (DLP) unit price. The study suggests utilizing dairy derived feedstocks has the potential to make PHA competitive in the bioplastic market, which could be beneficial to both dairy and bioplastic industries.

Design and Analysis of VTOL Operated Intercity Electrical Vehicle for Urban Air Mobility

This paper discusses the conceptual design of an intercity electrical vertical take-off-and-landing aircraft. A literature survey of existing eVTOL aircrafts, configuration selection, initial sizing, weight estimation, modelling and analysis was conducted. The present intercity eVTOL aircraft has the capability to carry four passengers along with one pilot for a distance of 500 km. Two specific aircraft modes, such as air-taxi and air-cargo mode, are considered in the present design. Market entry is predicted before 2031. Subsequently, innovative technologies are incorporated into the design. The present design features an aerodynamically shaped fuselage, tapered wing and a V-tail design. It can carry a nominal payload of 500 kg to a maximum range of 500 km at a cruise speed of Mach 0.168. The present eVTOL is comprised of a 5 m-long fuselage and an 11 m wingspan. It utilizes six tilt-rotor propeller engines. The maximum take-off weight and empty weight are 1755 kg and 1255 kg, respectively. The unit price is expected to be between USD 14.83 and 17.36 million. This aircraft has an aesthetically pleasing, intelligent and feasible design.

Profile of The Judicialization In Pharmaceutical Assistance And Expenses With Antineoplastics: A Cross-Sectional, Descriptive Study Based On A Set of All The Lawsuits Filed Between The Years 2016 To 2018 In of A State In Northeastern Brazil

Background: The judicialization of healthcare for acquiring medication is not an isolated occurrence in Brazil, it may also be observed in other Latin American countries, regardless of the existence of a universal health system, in Brazil, the Unified Health System. The search for justice, in terms of medications, has existed ever since the high demand for treating the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, while currently, the protagonist is cancer. Since pharmaceutical assistance is the area within Unified Health System, which is responsible for maintaining access to medications, the aim of this article is to describe the profile of judicialization in the pharmaceutical assistance of a state in Northeastern Brazil of economic significance, according to the characteristics of the lawsuits, regarding: the plaintiff filing the lawsuit; the medical and health information; the expenditure on acquiring the requested medications; and the relevance of spending on antineoplastic drugs. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study based on a set of lawsuits filed between 2016-2018 at the Litigation Center in the State Health Department of Pernambuco.Results: A total of 2,947 lawsuits were analyzed that contained at least one requested medication, with a predominance of males (51.7%); and in which 49.8% of the requests originated in the Unified Health System, and were primarily from patients in the Metropolitan region of the state capital. The most frequent ICDs for cancer were C61, C71 and C50. The median overall expense of the lawsuits was U$1,734.94. Considering only antineoplastic drugs, expenditure exceeded U$7,500 per lawsuit over the three years, given that the median unit price of antineoplastic drugs is approximately U$65.00 compared to U$4.00 for non-antineoplastic drugs. Conclusion: The present study is of relevance as a matter of public health, and how the profile of judicialization behaves as a tool for managing and improving decision-making in times of economic austerity.

Valuation of Forest Ecosystem Services in Taiwan

Forest is the largest ecosystem in the land area of Taiwan. In the past, most of the studies on the evaluation of forest ecosystem services were regional, and therefore lacked national assessment. This study uses a market value method and a benefit transfer method to assess the value of the forest ecosystem services in Taiwan, and expounds the link between ecosystem services and the effectiveness of forestry management and conservation. Preliminarily, it is estimated that the total value of forest ecosystem services in 2016 was approximately NT $749,278 million (equal to approximately 47.6 billion U.S. dollars, PPP-corrected), accounting for 4.28% of the GDP in 2016. The quotation of unit price data has a huge impact on the final assessment results of forest ecosystem service value, and therefore it is necessary use it appropriately.

User Guide for Procurement of Works: Standard Bidding Document

The following User’s Guide is intended to provide guidance to borrowers on how to prepare a bidding document for an admeasurement (unit price) type of works contract, and how to evaluate bids and award contracts, based on the ADB’s Standard Bidding Document for the Procurement of Works, which is available for cases of "with" and "without" prequalification. Two versions of the User’s Guide and the Standard Bidding Documents exist: one for projects with concept notes approved on or after 1 July 2017 and the other for projects with concept notes approved before 1 July 2017. Use the appropriate version.

New Concepts about DOL-DFL Nexus: The Relationships with Market Sensitivities, Firm-Specific Risk and Other Issues

This paper investigates several issues related to the Degree of Operating Leverage (DOL) and the Degree of Financial Leverage (DFL) in the light of advanced concepts on the matter proposed by recent studies. In particular, the paper treats mainly the relationships between DOL and market sensitivities and the impact of the uncertainty on DOL and DFL volatility together with minor issues. We used the DOL function already developed to analyse what market conditions facilitate or hinder, with or without economies of scale, Revenue development or a profit-maximising policy. DOL records the reaction coming from the factor and product markets together with the management decision process. DOL highlights whether the current economic strategy is, or not, successful and why, so that management can perceive clues to evaluate both the policy and its implementation. The uncertainty related to six fundamental economic variables determining EBIT and Net Profit growth volatility eventually contaminates DOL and DFL. Not all such variables impact DOL and DFL volatility, but when it happens, the firm’s risk is representable through the asymptotes of the DOL and DFL curves generated by each specific variable. Such a risk rate is independent of the chosen uncertainty range and is firm unique in any financial period. In normal economic conditions, DOL undervalues firm-specific risk while DFL carries out a containment function. The higher risk rate comes from the unit price change, that coupled with a sturdy quantity/mix growth, could induce negative economic and financial results.