The procurement process is one of the most important phases in any project life cycle, particularly when it comes to selecting the right contractor for the job. Awarding the contract to the best bid proposal is a critical step to ensure the greatest...
3 February 2022
The tender process is an inseparable step of the contract award process in the public sector, and from the other point of view, it is one of the crucial elements of the core business of construction contractors. Reviewing previous research reveals a...
A contractor’s ability to prepare a competitive bid for a construction tender is crucial for its survival on the market. The bid price estimation strategy should promote the probability of winning a sufficient amount of tenders but, at the same time,...
Background/Objectives: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) after middle age is a complex multifactorial condition, and subgrouping is recommended to determine effective treatment strategies. Multidimensional data help create new groupings to increase the ef...
In order to explore a new strategy to characterize the texture of raw meat, based on the ultrasonic tenderized wooden breast (WB), this study proposed stress relaxation and creep to determine the rheological properties. Results showed that hardness w...
Public works contracts are commonly priced and awarded through a tender process. Each bidder joining the tender must underwrite a bid bond that guarantees their fitness as contractors in case of a win. The winning contractor also needs to underwrite...
Beef from dairy breeds such as Holstein–Friesian (HO) often shows high variability in tenderness, particularly in locomotive muscles such as semimembranosus (SM). This study evaluated whether sous-vide (SV) cooking at 60 °C for different ti...
Pork is one of the most widely consumed meats worldwide, with tenderness and intramuscular fat (IMF) content serving as key determinants of consumer acceptance. The rising demand for high-quality pork underscores the need to better understand the mol...
Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) is a crucial agricultural pest owing to its global impact on >300 crops. Among these, the corn strain of S. frugiperda causes significant damage to maize (Zea mays L.). However, limited research exists on the inf...
This study investigated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the CAPN1 316, CAPN1 4751, and CAST 2959 markers using high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis to predict meat tenderness in crossbred beef cattle. Tenderness was assessed using the...
Tea leafhopper (Empoasca onukii Matsuda) is amongst the key pests in tea plantations around the East Asian region. Stereomicroscopy is a conventional method used for detecting tea leafhopper eggs by dissecting the tender tissues. However, there is a...
Conflicts between owners and contractors in state-led infrastructure and building projects pose significant challenges to project efficiency, cost control, and stakeholder collaboration. The aim of this study is to identify the primary causes of such...
A key problem of construction firms’ management and economy is organization of effective participation in public tenders. The direct executor, who determines the price of the contract, may be interested in obtaining as many contracts as possibl...
The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of different fattening systems from pasture to concentrate and temperament on animal welfare (AW) and meat quality (MQ). Eighty-four Hereford steers were randomly assigned to the following groups:...
Background/Objectives: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programs play a critical role in the primary prevention of HPV-related diseases, including cervical cancer. However, the principles governing the implementation of these programs vary acro...
Public procurement accounts for almost 20% of Spain’s gross domestic product (GDP). The current legislation allows for the inclusion of social considerations in contracting processes, hence the interest of this study, which defines the procedur...
Recurrent joint bleeds and silent bleeds are the most common clinical feature in patients with hemophilia. Every bleed causes an immediate inflammatory response and is the leading cause of chronic crippling arthropathy. With the help of infrared ther...
This study proposes a task planning approach for a distributed constellation dedicated to space target monitoring, grounded in an adaptive genetic algorithm. The approach is designed to address challenges such as the growing number of space targets a...
Information Modelling and Management (IMM) methods for Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) can promote the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices. Despite the wide regulatory framework and existing drivers, Construction and Demoli...
The literature on pork quality perception is fragmented, particularly regarding the role of sensory and intrinsic attributes and consumer familiarity. This study addresses this gap by examining the importance of sensory attributes (juiciness, flavor,...
Carcasses from pasture-finished early-maturing (EM), rather than late-maturing (LM), breed bulls may be more suited to meet the minimum carcass fatness classification of 2+ (6.0 on a 15-point scale) required for some markets. The comparative colour a...
This study analyzes Brazilian consumer behavior regarding quality and visual cues in fresh red meat and cooked beef. Using eye tracking to collect visual attention metrics and psychological scales to assess food behavior, the research examines how vi...
Australia’s construction industry throughout the last two decades has seen an increase in the number of women pursuing careers. The percentage it has increased by between 1998 and 2020 is a disappointing 0.2% despite the research, strategies, a...
The goat meat preferred by consumers in Spain comes from suckling goat kids, slaughtered at a live weight of 8–10 kg. However, consumption of this meat is very uncommon, so it is necessary to show its value. To achieve this, we planned to inves...
Objective: to investigate the change in volume and signal in the masticatory muscles and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) of patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) after whiplash injury, based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and to correlat...
Optimal sous-vide and multiphase cooking strategies remain underexplored despite their potential to improve the tenderness and juiciness of chicken breast. This study aimed to optimize sous-vide cooking conditions (Experiment I) and evaluate the effe...
This study investigated the effect of different cattle management strategies at farm (Intensive vs. Extensive) and during transport and lairage (mixing vs. non-mixing with unfamiliar animals) on the myofibrillar subproteome of Longissimus thoracis et...
Muscle traits are critical determinants of meat quality and productivity in sheep, influenced by both breed and anatomical region. Hanzhong sheep, an indigenous Chinese breed, are prized for tender, low-odor meat; yet, the molecular mechanisms underl...
Acute bowel diseases are responsible for more than one third of subjects who were referred to the emergency department for acute abdominal pain and gastrointestinal evaluation. Gastrointestinal ultrasound (GIUS) is often employed as the first imaging...
The aim of this preliminary study was to examine the effects of yoghurt acid whey (YAW) marination on quality parameters and the oxidative stability of pork, lamb, rabbit and chicken meat. Twenty-four samples per meat type were randomly allocated to...
This study investigated the effects of genotype, animal age, muscle type, and aging duration on meat quality characteristics of Psoas major (PM), Longissimus thoracis (LT), Longissimus lumborum (LL), and Gluteus Medius (GM) muscles. The PM, LT, LL, a...
Boar taint is an unpleasant odour and flavour released during heat treatment of pork from uncastrated male pigs. The two main compounds responsible for boar taint are androstenone and skatole. Androstenone is a steroid hormone formed in the testis du...
Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is an aromatic, tender leafy green cultivated for the fresh market and industrial processing. Like many other leafy vegetables, this species can be harvested more than once to increase productivity. Although the cut-...
Green color priming has been introduced as a cue for consumer perceptions of sustainability. Nevertheless, the color green is not necessarily effective in every brand’s sustainability strategy. This study aims to understand the impact of a bran...
The apical hook is formed by dicot seedlings to protect the tender shoot apical meristem during soil emergence. Regulated by many phytohormones, the apical hook has been taken as a model to study the crosstalk between individual signaling pathways. O...
Hong Kong is a densely populated city with high-rise developments, and as in other metropolitan cities, the amount of waste generated from construction projects in the city is increasing annually. The capacity of existing landfills is expected to be...
The construction industry in Australia generates a significant amount of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, necessitating better waste management (WM) practices. This research addresses this issue by investigating CE strategies aimed at min...
Designing sustainable underground metro lines in dense urban environments is a highly challenging task that requires the collaboration of numerous stakeholders and consultants to make crucial decisions influenced by several factors. While it is impos...
Condica capensis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), a newly identified pest in Yunnan Province, China, poses a threat to safflower crops. Discovered in Nanhua County in November 2023, the pest damages safflower at multiple life stages, especially during its l...
Globally and locally, projects continue to miss their cost and schedule targets. It is largely because risks that occur in the construction industry are not addressed at the contract development stage. These risks may be divided into three basic cate...
Developing small-scale continuum catheter robots with inherent soft bodies and high adaptability to different environments holds great promise for biomedical engineering applications. However, current reports indicate that these robots meet challenge...
11 April 2019
Background and objectives: Governments in Asia Pacific (APAC) are increasingly using pharmaceutical pricing strategies to contain rising healthcare costs. The objective of this narrative review is to discuss formal pricing strategies for reimbursed p...
Multi-layered NiO nanowires linked with a nitrogen-doped carbon backbone grown directly on flexible carbon cloth (NiO/NCBN/CC) was successfully fabricated with a facile synthetic strategy. The NiO/NCBN/CC was further used as a binding-free electrode...
Heat stress (HS), driven by rising global temperatures, significantly impairs the nutritional composition and sensory quality of meat from monogastric animals, particularly swine and poultry. HS induces physiological disturbances, including reduced f...
The aim of this study was to investigate the physicochemical traits, colour, and texture profile of fermented sausage, Baranjski kulen, produced from the meat of pigs originating from three pork chains. The first pork chain consisted of the Black Sla...
From the perspective of a circular economy that prioritizes resource reuse and recovery, sewage sludge could be a source of nutrients for agricultural soils or a source of energy, depending on its characteristics. Lombardy is the region with the high...
This review examines the impact of heat stress (HS) on carcass traits, meat quality, and nutritional composition in monogastric animals, specifically poultry and swine, and evaluates targeted nutritional strategies for mitigation. With rising global...
The automotive supply chain is one of the top eight value chains that cause 50% of global emissions. Despite its significance, limited literature has researched the role of insurance companies in addressing automotive supply chain emissions. This res...
Consumer surveys were conducted in the Western, Central, and Eastern regions of Venezuela to determine buying expectations, motivations, needs, perceptions, and preferences of beef consumers, and their acceptance of domestic (and foreign) beef, as af...
This study aimed at evaluating the effects of the addition of an oil/beer/lemon marinade solution with or without the inclusion of oregano, rosemary and juniper essential oils on the quality, the technological properties as well as the shelf-life and...
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